Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

A large part of our infrastructure is quite old and in urgent need of rehabilitation and/or reconstruction. To reduce the vulnerability of these structures to operational and extreme loadings (e.g., earthquake), it is important to determine their structural conditions and capacity through regular inspection and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques. SHM techniques using different types of sensors to measure the in-situ response (e.g. strain, acceleration) provides additional and objective information to supplement traditional methods and aid in effective decision making on structural rehabilitation and intervention, which can potentially take advantage of high performing materials and new devices and systems. The proposed research program primarily focuses on SHM and performance-tuning of structures to improve their resilience profiles. Here the goals are to: (1) Develop innovative SHM techniques for evaluation of the in-situ performance of structures (2) Develop practical methods for performance tuning and retrofit of structures to enhance their resilience using distributed semi-active tuned mass dampers (TMD), and (3) Develop a SHM-based quality control process for constructing structurally robust modular buildings suitable for northern and remote communities. To achieve Goal 1, the proposed research will focus on the development of new sensing methods for monitoring and damage detection techniques for structures. The performance of a range of fibre optic, wireless sensors for SHM will be studied in the laboratory and field; number of existing issues such as optimal placement of sensors, detecting sensor malfunction, environmental effect on monitoring data, and detecting novel events (e.g., earthquake), will be addressed experimentally and analytically. To achieve Goal 2, an effective method for optimal placement of the distributed TMDs and strategies for controlling them using semi-active systems will be developed. While distributed tuned mass dampers (TMD) with MR-based semi-active systems was found promising, their control systems and methods integrate them to structural analysis need further development. To achieve Goal 3, the present research will focus on innovative application of sensor-based monitoring of prefabricated volumetric modules used for modular construction of buildings. Modular construction is deemed cheaper and faster and could be particularly beneficial for northern and remote communities. The proposed research program will be built upon the applicant's ongoing work in the above areas. There is significant potential for innovation in the proposed research which aims at enhancing the fundamental knowledge on structural behaviour and developing efficient methodologies for monitoring and performance-enhancement of structures to improve their service lives and resilience, and thereby enhance the safety of the civil and built infrastructure and benefit the Canadian society.