Structural test and monitoring is a critical part of civionics, the combination of electrical and civil engineering disciplines. These systems can be very complex, incorporating a wide range of transducers, advanced control algorithms and high speed real-time processing just to name a few. These challenges were traditionally solved with systems optimized for a specific type of test or structure, such as boxed instruments and data loggers. But in the current fast-paced world of prototyping, construction and innovation, redesigning a structural test and monitoring system is very inefficient, expensive and time consuming. These traditional systems also do not leverage the latest COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) technologies available.
The ideal test system should be able to perform any test on any structure, while the ideal monitoring system, as it’s typically field deployed, should be able to monitor any structure, anywhere. Technologies discussed include high-performance buses and advanced synchronization techniques necessary to provide modular I/O, adaptable for any structure and any test; industrial grade control to provide robust and reliable control over structures; embedded form factor, wireless and optical measurements to perform measurements anywhere in any environments; and Instrumentation-grade I/O to deliver the accuracy and performance required for the best possible measurements.
This session will provide an architectural view of modern structural test and monitoring systems, diving into both COTS hardware and software technologies that enable the most advanced and flexible systems available. A few case studies will also be presented.