Highway Infrastructure Health Monitoring Using Micro-Electromechanical Sensors and Systems (Mems)

Abstract

The development of novel "smart" structures by embedding sensing capabilities directly into the construction material during the manufacturing and deployment process has attracted significant attention in autonomous structural health monitoring (SHM). Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) provide vast improvements over existing sensing methods in the context of SHM of highway infrastructure systems, including improved system reliability, improved longevity and enhanced system performance, improved safety against natural hazards and vibrations, and a reduction in life cycle cost in both operating and maintaining the infrastructure. Advancements in MEMS technology and wireless sensor networks provide opportunities for long-Term, continuous, real-Time structural health monitoring of pavements and bridges at low cost within the context of sustainable infrastructure systems. Based on a comprehensive review of literature and vendor survey, the latest information available on off-The-shelf MEMS devices, as well as research prototypes, for bridge, pavement, and traffic applications are synthesized in this paper. In addition, the paper discusses the results of a laboratory study as well as a small-scale field study on the use of a wireless concrete monitoring system based on radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology and off-The-shelf MEMS-based temperature and humidity sensors. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ceylan, H., Gopalakrishnan, K., Kim, S., Taylor, P. C., Prokudin, M., Abstract. The development of novel "smart" structures by embedding sensing capabilities directly into the construction material during the manufacturing and deployment process has attracted significant attention in autonomous structural health monitoring (SHM). Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) provide vast improvements over existing sensing methods in the context of SHM of highway infrastructure systems, including improved system reliability, improved longevity and enhanced system performance, improved safety against natural hazards and vibrations, and a reduction in life cycle cost in both operating and maintaining the infrastructure. Advancements in MEMS technology and wireless sensor networks provide opportunities for long-term, continuous, real-time structural health monitoring of pavements and bridges at low cost within the context of sustainable infrastructure systems. Based on a comprehensive review of literature and vendor survey, the latest information available on offthe-shelf MEMS devices, as well as research prototypes, for bridge, pavement, and traffic applications are synthesized in this paper. In addition, the paper discusses the results of a laboratory study as well as a small-scale field study on the use of a wireless concrete monitoring system based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and off-the-shelf MEMSbased temperature and humidity sensors.

A survey of health monitoring systems for wind turbines

“…Finally, for both onshore and offshore turbines, durability and accessibility of sensors is a concern. The long-term survivability of sensors embedded into concrete has yet to be proven [70], though some sensors, such as a MEMS cantilever-based temperature and humidity sensor, have shown promise [71]. Should such a sensor fail, accessing it for maintenance is impractical.…”

Evaluation of Photogrammetry and Inclusion of Control Points: Significance for Infrastructure Monitoring

“…Incorporating effective monitoring techniques for infrastructure systems is imperative when diagnosing performance and ensuring the structural integrity of systems. Moreover, ensuring structural safety for geotechnical applications is a critical component for transportation asset management systems [8,9]. The demand for an effective asset management protocol is growing for geotechnical infrastructure, such as retaining walls, for improving operations and enhancing safety at a minimal cost, while enabling conformity assessment results for structures [10][11][12][13].…”

Off-Resonant Vibration Amplifier With Flattened Band-Pass Characteristic and Improved Axis Selectivity

“…Conventional sensors employed for the detection of low frequency acoustic and micro-seismic vibration signals in the range of a few up to tens of kHz are either low frequency piezo ceramic AE sensors, which are heavy and expensive, or linear, broadband accelerometers, which are also sensitive to low frequency environmental noise. The advantages of MEMS based AE sensors could lead to a reduction of size and cost which would enable a large scale application in wire-less sensor networks [5]. Bandlimited sensor transfer functions on the other hand could reduce the influence of environmental noise.…”