Research

Structural Health Monitoring with Wireless Sensors

Capitalizing on recent advances in wireless communication, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and integrated circuits, low-cost modular structural monitoring and control systems can be designed.  It is envisioned that in the future, these wireless sensors will be able to acquire measurement data, communicate with each other, and make real-time intelligent decisions for monitoring or controlling a civil structure.  As part of Prof. Yang Wang‘s PhD research, which was co-advised by Prof. Kincho H. Law at Stanford University and Prof. Jerome P. Lynch at the University of Michigan, a prototype wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) system has been developed. The prototype wireless unit is designed in such a way that the unit can serve as either a sensing unit (i.e., a unit that collects data from sensors and wirelessly transmits the data), an actuation unit (i.e., a unit that calculates control forces and issue commands to the actuators), or a unit for both sensing and actuation. Following figure shows the overall hardware design of the prototype wireless sensing unit and two optional off-board auxiliary modules for conditioning analog sensor signals and generating actuation signals.

In collaboration with Prof. Chung Bang Yun‘s group at Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), large-scale field validation tests were completed at Geumdang Bridge in Icheon, South Korea. Wireless sensors were deployed along the concrete box girder bridge spanning 122m. The bridge has also been instrumented with a high-quality cable-based monitoring system for baseline validation. Learning from the first bridge test in December 2004, the sensor signal conditioning module was developed. Later test in July 2005 proved that the module greatly improved the data quality for the low-amplitude and noisy vibration signals at the bridge deck.

In March 2006, another field validation test for the wireless structural sensing system was conducted at Voigt Bridge, San Diego, CA, in collaboration with Prof. Ahmed Elgamal‘s group at the University of California at San Diego. Up to 20 wireless sensing units were employed for the field test. A wire-based system was installed on the bridge, prior to the instrumentation of the wireless sensing system. Comparison of the measurement results from the wired and wireless system is first conducted. With the wireless system conveniently re-deployed to a different configuration, the operating deflection shapes (ODS) of the bridge deck are extracted from the wireless sensor data.

Through collaboration with Prof. Chin-Hsiung Loh‘s group at National Taiwan University, the prototype wireless monitoring system was instrumented on a half-scale laboratory structure in June 2005. A 6-DOF large-scale shaking table in National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan is used to excite the structure with various ground motions. Data acquisition and onboard computation capabilities of the wireless monitoring system were validated through the tests.

Selected Publications

  1. Otsuki, Y., Sakpunpanom, K., and Wang, Y. (2023). “Long-term ultrasonic thickness measurement on an in-service bridge through a wireless sensor network.” Proceedings of SPIE 12486, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems, Long Beach, CA, USA, March 13-16, 2023. 

  2. Otsuki, Y., Lander, P., and Wang, Y. (2022). “Field validation of a compact Martlet ultrasonic thickness measurement system.” Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring (8WCSCM), Orlando, FL, USA, June 5-8, 2022.

  3. Lander, P., Fahed, N., and Wang, Y. (2022). “Martlet wireless sensing system for full scale bridge weigh-in-motion.” Proceedings of SPIE 12046, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems, Long Beach, CA, USA, March 6-10, 2022. 

  4. Otsuki, Y., Lander, P., and Wang, Y. (2021). “Ultrasonic thickness measurement using the Martlet wireless sensing system.” Proceedings of 2021 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), Glasgow, Scotland, May 17-20, 2021.

  5. Qin, Y., Xiao, R., Wang, Y., and Law, K.H. (2019). “A Bridge Information Modelling Framework for Model Interoperability” Proceedings of 2019 ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering (i3CE), Atlanta, GA, USA, June 17-19, 2019.

  6. Liu, X., Dong, X., Wang, Y., Stewart, L., Dodson, J., and Joyce, B. (2018). “High-g shock acceleration measurement using Martlet wireless sensing system.” Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series, IMAC XXXVI, Orlando, FL, USA, February 12-15, 2018

  7. Dong, X., Liu, X., Wright, T., Wang, Y., and DesRoches, R. (2016). “Validation of wireless sensing technology densely instrumented on a full-scale concrete frame structure.” Proceedings of International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction (ICSIC), Cambridge. United Kingdom, June 27-29, 2016.

  8. Liu, X., Dong, X., and Wang, Y. (2016). “Field testing of Martlet wireless sensing system on an in-service pre-stressed concrete highway bridge.” Proceedings of SPIE, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems, 9805, Las Vegas, NV, USA, March 20-24, 2016.

  9. Chen, S., Dong, X., Kim, J.-Y., Wu, S., and Wang, Y. (2016). “Design and performance validation of a compact wireless ultrasonic device for localized damage detection.” Advances in Structural Engineering, 19(2): 270-282.

  10. Phanish, D., Garver, P., Matalkah, G., Landes, T., Shen, F., Dumond, J., Abler, R., Zhu, D., Dong, X., Wang, Y., and Coyle, E. J. (2015). “A wireless sensor network for monitoring the structural health of a football stadium.” Proceedings of IEEE 2nd World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), 471-477, Reston, VA, USA, December 14-16, 2015.

  11. Dong, X., Zhu, D., Wang, Y., Lynch, J. P., and Swartz, R. A. (2014). “Design and validation of acceleration measurement using the Martlet wireless sensing system.” Proceedings of the ASME 2014 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS), Newport, RI, USA, September 8-10, 2014.

  12. Dong, X., Chen, S., Zhu, D., Kane, M., Wang, Y., and Lynch, J. P. (2014). “High-speed heterogeneous data acquisition using Martlet – a next-generation wireless sensing device.” Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring (6WCSCM), Barcelona, Spain, July 15-17, 2014.

  13. Law, K.H., Smarsly, K., and Wang, Y. (2014). “Sensor data management technologies for infrastructure asset management,” Sensor Technologies for Civil Infrastructures, Volume 2: Applications in Structural Health Monitoring (Ed. Wang, M.L., Lynch, J.P., and Sohn, H.), Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, U.K. 

  14. Kane,M., Zhu, D., Hirose, M., Dong, X., Winter, B., Häckell, M., Lynch, J. P., Wang Y., and Swartz, A. (2014). “Development of an extensible dual-core wireless sensing node for cyber-physical systems,” Proceedings of SPIE, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems, 9061, San Diego, CA, USA, March 10-14, 2014.

  15. Wang, Y. and Law, K.H. (2011). “Wireless sensor networks in smart structural technologies,” Recent Advances in Wireless Communications and Networks (Ed. Lin, J.-C.), InTech, Rijeka, Croatia.

  16. Hsu, T.-Y., Huang, S.-K., Lu, K.-C., Loh, C.-H., Wang, Y. and Lynch, J.P. (2011). “On-line structural damage localization and quantification using wireless sensors,” Smart Materials and Structures, 20(10): 105025.

  17. Zhu, D., Wang, Y. and Brownjohn, J. (2011). “Vibration testing of a steel girder bridge using cabled and wireless sensors,” Frontiers of Architecture and Civil Engineering in China, 5(3): 249-258.

  18. Ni, Y.Q., Li, B., Lam, K.H., Zhu, D., Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P., and Law, K.H. (2011). “In-construction vibration monitoring of a super-tall structure using a long-range wireless sensing system,” Smart Structures and Systems, 7(2): 83-102.

  19. Pertsch, A., Kim, J.-Y., Wang, Y. and Jacobs, L.J. (2011). “An intelligent stand-alone ultrasonic device for monitoring local structural damage: implementation and preliminary experiments,” Smart Materials and Structures, 20(1): 015022.

  20. Lei, Y., Shen, W.A., Song, Y. and Wang, Y. (2010). “Intelligent wireless sensors with application to the identification of structural modal parameters and steel cable forces: from the lab to the field,” Advances in Civil Engineering, 316023.

  21. Pertsch, A.T., Kim, J.-Y., Wang, Y. and Jacobs, L.J. (2009). “An intelligent stand-alone ultrasonic device for monitoring local damage growth in civil structures,” Proceedings of the 36th Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation (QNDE 2009), Kingston, RI, USA, July 26 – 31, 2009.

  22. Kim, J., Loh, K.J., Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Cho, S., Yun, C.-B. (2009). “Implementation of wireless monitoring systems for modal analysis of bridges along a Korean test road,” Proceedings of the 2009 NSF CMMI Research and Innovation Conference, Honolulu, HI, June 22 – 25, 2009.

  23. Lei, Y., Shen, W.A., Song, Y., Wang, Y. and Lynch, J.P. (2008). “Intelligent sensors with application to the identification of structural modal parameters and steel cable forces,” Proceedings of the 11th Biennial ASCE Aerospace Division International Conference (Earth & Space 2008), Long Beach, CA, USA, March 3 – 5, 2008.

  24. Weng, J.-H., Loh, C.-H., Lynch, J.P., Lu, K.-C., Lin, P.-Y., and Wang, Y. (2008). “Output-only modal identification of a cable-stayed bridge using wireless monitoring systems,” Engineering Structures, 30(7): 1820-1830.

  25. Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Swartz, R.A., Lu, K.-C. and Loh, C.-H. (2008). “Implementation of a closed-loop structural control system using wireless sensor networks,” Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 15(4): 518-539.

  26. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2007). “Wireless sensing technologies for civil infrastructure monitoring and management,” Proceedings of the 5th International Seminar for Safety of Infrastructures, Seoul, Korea, September 14, 2007.

  27. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2007). “Decentralized H∞ controller design for large-scale wireless structural sensing and control systems,” Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford, CA, September 11 – 13, 2007.

  28. Wang, Y., Loh, K.J., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2007). “Wireless sensing and control,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering, Harbin, China, July 1 – 4, 2007.

  29. Loh, K.J., Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Law, K.H., Fraser, M. and Elgamal, A. (2007). “Validation of a wireless traffic vibration monitoring system for the Voigt Bridge,” Proceedings of the World Forum on Smart Materials and Smart Structures Technology (SMSST07), Chongqing & Nanjing, China, May 22 – 27, 2007.

  30. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2007). “Information driven wireless sensing and control for civil structures,” Proceedings of the World Forum on Smart Materials and Smart Structures Technology (SMSST07), Chongqing & Nanjing, China, May 22 – 27, 2007.

  31. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P., Law, K.H., Loh, C.-H. and Elgamal, A. (2007). “Reliable information management in a low-cost wireless structural monitoring and control network,” Proceedings of SPIE 14th International Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 6529: 65291J, San Diego, CA, March 18 – 22, 2007.

  32. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2007). “A wireless structural health monitoring system with multithreaded sensing devices: design and validation,” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 3(2): 103-120.

  33. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2006). “Wireless sensing, actuation and control — with applications to civil structures,” Intelligent Computing in Engineering and Architecture (Ed. Smith, I.F.C.), Springer, Berlin, Germany.

  34. Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Loh, K.J., Yi, J.-H. and Yun, C.-B. (2006). “Performance monitoring of the Geumdang Bridge using a dense network of high-resolution wireless sensors,” Smart Materials and Structures, 15(6): 1561-1575.

  35. Lu, K.-C., Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P., Lin, P.-Y., Loh, C.-H. and Law, K.H. (2005). “Application of wireless sensors for structural health monitoring and control,” Proceedings of the 18th KKCNN Symposium on Civil Engineering, Kaoshong, Taiwan, December 18 – 20, 2005.

  36. Lynch, J.P., Loh, K.J., Hou, T.-C., Wang, Y., Yi, J.-H., Yun, C.-B., Lu, K.-C. and Loh, C.-H. (2005). “Validation case studies of wireless monitoring systems in civil structures,” Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-2), Shenzhen, China, November 16 – 18, 2005.

  37. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2005). “Validation of an integrated network system for real-time wireless monitoring of civil structures,” Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford, CA, September 12 – 14, 2005.

  38. Swartz, R.A., Jung, D., Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Shi, D. and Flynn, M.P. (2005). “Design of a wireless sensor for scalable distributed in-network computation in a structural health monitoring system,” Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford, CA, September 12 – 14, 2005.

  39. Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Law, K.H., Yi, J.-H., Lee, C.-G. and Yun, C.-B. (2005). “Validation of a large-scale wireless structural monitoring system on the Geumdang Bridge,” Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Structural Safety and Reliability, Rome, Italy, June 19 – 23, 2005.

  40. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2005). “Design of a low-power wireless structural monitoring system for collaborative computational algorithms,” Proceedings of SPIE 10th Annual International Symposium on Nondestructive Evaluation for Health Monitoring and Diagnostics, 5768: 106, San Diego, CA, March 6 – 10, 2005.

  41. Wang, Y., Lynch, J.P. and Law, K.H. (2005). “Wireless structural sensors using reliable communication protocols for data acquisition and interrogation,” Proceedings of the 23rd International Modal Analysis Conference (IMAC XXIII), Orlando, FL, January 31 – February 3, 2005.

  42. Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Sundararajan, A., Law, K.H. and Kiremidjian, A.S. (2004). “Wireless sensing for structural health monitoring of civil structures,” Proceedings of the International Workshop on Integrated Life-Cycle Management of Infrastructures, Hong Kong, China, December 9 – 11, 2004.

  43. Lynch, J.P., Wang, Y., Sundararajan, A., Law, K.H. and Kiremidjian, A.S. (2004). “Design and development of power-efficient wireless sensing units for structural health monitoring applications,” Proceedings of the International Symposium on Earthquake Engineering in the Past and Future Fifty Years, Harbin, China, August 20 – 21, 2004.