The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award is to establish a long-term research and educational program which focuses on the application of mobile sensors for structural health condition assessment. The inclusion of sensing capabilities in mobile devices presents an incredible opportunity for measuring structural response and environmental conditions at rates, volumes and locations not possible in the past. This project will develop the analytical models and experimental platform for validation and verification that will improve safety and reliability of highway bridges. The project aims to produce knowledge and build the foundation necessary for taking advantage of a wealth of data that will become available through mobile sensors for structural monitoring. The ultimate objective of this project is to use this abundant data for structural condition assessment that will benefit the society. The project will incorporate its research products into a comprehensive educational plan for underclassmen, underrepresented and community college students, through two specific programs: a hands-on Summer School in Sensing and Structural Health Monitoring, and Project Based Research at the institution for Community Colleges.
The project aims to produce and manage the knowledge, and build the foundation necessary for taking advantage of a wealth of data that will become available through mobile sensors for structural monitoring. It will test the hypotheses that (i) the dynamic properties of a bridge can be identified using data from moving sensors which produce randomly incomplete data matrices, (ii) dynamic interaction of a vehicle carrying mobile sensors over a bridge can be exactly or approximately uncoupled from the motions of the bridge, and (iii) a prototype test bed could produce data and procedures to verify the validity of the estimated dynamic properties of a bridge using mobile sensors. Testing these hypotheses is crucial in addressing the technology and data processing knowledge gaps for using mobile sensors for monitoring structures. An entire class of new methods for understanding the behavior of systems is developed; they form a unique platform that uses mobile devices to understand the performance of infrastructure systems.
