Author's manuscript of paper presented at the Fourth International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, September 15-17, 2003. Deposited with permission of the publisher.Published version of full conference proceedings available for purchase from the publisher via http://www.destechpub.com/index.php?fuseAction=catalogs.viewItem&catalogID=1&catalogLevelID=&catalogItemID=136Proceedings published as: Structural Health Monitoring 2003; From Diagnosis & Prognostics to Structural Health Management; Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, September 15-17, 2003; Editor: Fu-Kuo Chang, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University; ISBN13: 978-1-932078-20-6, 1-932078-20-7, September 2003.This article appeared in Structural Health Monitoring 2003—Proceedings of the 4th International Conference Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, 2003. Lancaster, PA: DEStech Publications, Inc.Two contemporary research programs have explored the use of newer type of
sensors believed, and advertised, to have potential in future implementation of SHM
system for civil structures. Fibre optic sensors have the possibility to record a range
of physical parameters simultaneously and at high speed through multiplexing
capabilities of the fibre Bragg grating (FBG); GPS has the advantage to measure
absolute displacement of slowly moving flexible structures without need for optical
line of sight.
FBG sensors have been tested in laboratory situations and have finally been
implemented for strain measurements in an expressway viaduct construction
program. Meanwhile, a twin-rover GPS system mounted on top of one of
Singapore’s tallest buildings has recently provided real-time static and dynamic
response data as part of an existing monitoring system designed to study structural
performance during wind and earthquake loading. Some of the first results of these
two programs will be presented.
Both implementations have been problematic in different ways and the paper will
identify some of the difficulties and the solutions adopted. The practical limitations
and optimal applications can thus be identified
