Validation case studies of wireless monitoring systems in civil structures

Growing interest in smart structure technologies has motivated researchers to explore wireless sensor networks for structural monitoring applications. Wireless sensors offer significant cost savings and functionality enhancements compared to traditional cable-based monitoring technologies. First, wireless communication eradicates the need to undertake installation of wires in a structure, thereby saving major costs. Second, embedded computing technologies are integrated with wireless sensors to offer opportunities to locally process measurement data. This paper summarizes two validation case studies where wireless sensors are installed within realistic civil structures. The first case study describes the installation of a wireless monitoring system upon the Geumdang Bridge. The second case study describes the application of wireless sensors to a three-story steel structure excited with base motion. In both case studies, the wireless monitoring system is shown to provide equivalent accuracy compared to baseline cable-based monitoring systems simultaneously installed. Furthermore, the computational power integrated with the wireless sensor prototypes is utilized for real-time data interrogation.