High-rise buildings, arenas/stadiums and historical monuments are complex structures. They are comprised of multiple elements and components that become stressed and interact with one another when exposed to external phenomena. Buildings vary widely in size, geometry, structural systems, construction materials and foundation characteristics. These attributes influence how a building performs when overcharged or when under stress of natural events.
Built many years ago, using old techniques and being exposed to environmental conditions for very long periods of time, heritage structures can show different degrees of stress. Without appropriate management, heritage structures may partially or entirely collapse, which can not only create safety and economic issues, but can also create an irreversible cultural loss.
Structural Health Monitoring allows the rapid assessment of a building’s health, and such approach is recognized as one of the best means available to increase the safety and to optimize the operational and maintenance activities of complex buildings. Data resulting from monitoring programs allows owners to improve the operation, the maintenance, the repair and the replacement of structures, based on reliable and objective data. Detection of ongoing damage can be used to identify deviations in design performance values. Monitoring data can be integrated into structural management systems and increase the quality and cost effectiveness of decisions by providing reliable and unbiased information.
Structural Health Monitoring provides reliable data on the actual condition of a structure, observes its evolution and detects the appearance of new degradations. Concrete will crack and creep, and steel will oxidize and may crack due to fatigue loading. The degradation of materials is caused by mechanical factors (loading higher than theoretically assumed) and physical-chemical factors (corrosion of steel, penetration of salts and chlorides in concrete, freezing of concrete, etc.). A real-time picture of a building’s current state and evolution can be achieved by permanently installing sensors and continuously measuring relevant parameters.
Structural monitoring using the Testindo Group solutions represents valuable methods for increasing knowledge and ability to assess the structural performance and integrity of complex buildings. For long term solutions, static monitoring requires very accurate and stable systems, able to relate measurements often spaced over long periods of time, reliably preserving the integrity and safety of the building.
Benefits of the Testindo Group's Integrated Building Health Monitoring Solutions
1 - Integrated Solutions The Testindo Group provides Integrated Structural Health Monitoring Solutions for high-rise buildings, arenas/stadiums and historical buildings based on advanced fiber optic technologies and conventional sensors. The Testindo Group also integrates local corrosion sensors and other third party transducers for additional information. All sensing technologies are seamlessly integrated into a single database and user interface.
2 - SHMLive Through the SHMLive service, the Testindo Group offers a comprehensive solution for building monitoring. This includes the design of the system, its delivery and installation, maintenance and operation, web access to data and data analysis by experienced engineering partners, all for a fixed monthly fee.
3 - Ensure integrity of people, nature and property Early detection of performance degradation can save lives and property in time by detecting warning signals in structures. Warning signals can be used to predict the collapse of certain structures, avoiding serious ecological pollution. The Testindo Group's monitoring systems are perfectly suited for collecting permanent and reliable monitoring data, which will help guarantee the safety and integrity of structures and their users.
4 - Extend the lifetime of ageing structures Many structures are in much better condition than expected or observed by visual inspection alone. In such cases, monitoring will allow the owner of a building to increase the safety margins without any intervention on the structure. Owners can take advantage of better material properties, conservative design capacity and synergistic structural effects to extend the lifetime or load-bearing capacity of structures. Structural health monitoring is also a recognized tool for preserving cultural heritage structures by providing real-time information about degradation that may affect historical monuments.
5 - Add technological credits and prestige to a building The Testindo Group's state of the art fiber optics monitoring systems provide buildings with added value high-tech design and the most up-to-date instrumentation technology.
6 - Reduce insurance and maintenance costs Implementing a Testindo Group monitoring system with high accuracy, reliability and robustness can decrease insurance premiums and maintenance costs that are allocated for liabilities and damages caused by unexpected structural failures to people and properties.
7 - Assessing building safety immediately after a major event Understand and assess possible damages and failures caused by extraordinary events such as earthquakes, impacts, strong winds, storms or explosions. This allows building managers or consultants to make an informed preliminary assessment on whether the safety of a building has been seriously compromised.
8 - The Testindo Group: a dependable partner for instrumentation project management The Testindo Group will support the owners in all phases of a project, from system design to installation, commissioning and training. Through the experience and commitment of the Testindo Group, any monitoring needs will be met. The Testindo Group has been instrumenting critical structures for more than 60 years. Its worldwide network of system integrators provides competent local support and resources for any project. All the systems come with a 10 year warranty on the availability of spare parts.
Solutions
The following packages are the most widely used for building monitoring. However, each project has specific requirements and needs that can be addressed by a tailored system. The Testindo Group has developed a 7-step methodology to design and implement an optimal SHM system for any building.
- Local Strain: Local strain analysis, compare to finite element methods (FEM), vibration strain
- Average Strain: Macrostrain analysis, compare to FEM, vibration deformations
- Displacement: Joint openings, existing crack opening
- Settlement: Differential settlement between columns or foundations
- Tilt: Global or local tilt
- 3D Movement: Differential settlement, roof deflection
- Vibration: Modal analysis, wind / seismic induced vibration
- Load: Cable / Stay forces, reaction forces
- Temperature: Steel / Concrete temperature
- Rebar Corrosion: Concrete corrosion & humidit
- Environment: Wind, air temperature, precipitation
- Building, construction progress
