Structure Damage Sensors Are Now A Reality

Assessing the structural integrity of a building is a very complex task, and a very necessary one at that, especially in the event of an earthquake or other natural catastrophe that could damage the internal make-up of a very expensive building. Until now, outside sensors were used, small devices that recorded fluctuations in the distribution of forces through the steel and concrete of a skyscraper, for instance. Now, thanks to a new device already patented, monitoring the behavior of a building becomes much easier

Instead of collecting data from a single point, as in the case of discreet sensors, Dr. Genda Chen came up with a novel way of approaching structural integrity observations. The expert, a professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, was recently awarded a patent for a monitoring system featuring a co-axial cable, up to 100 feet (33 meters) long, that can provide a continuous flow of reads throughout its length.

The entire ensemble works like a motion detector. An emitter sends a signal wave throughout the length of the cable and, if a disturbance is encountered, a reflection wave is propagated back, to the beginning of the sensor, where a receiver picks it up and converts it into readable data, via computer software.

Their construction allows them to survive in even the harshest environments, and their built-in memory banks allow them to report back information even if they were temporarily incapacitated. This may happen in the event of an earthquake, when the sensors might be overpowered by the number of reflected impulses they receive. After the tremor ends, the data will still arrange itself nicely, offering structural architects the information they need to take into account when designing other similar structures.

These devices can be installed in a variety of buildings, ranging from office towers, parking lots, average homes and bridges to suspended highways. Constant monitoring can show exactly how wind acts on all these structures, and could provide early warning on structural failure or on what portion of the structure needs to be reinforced to prevent disaster.