ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Situations such as the collapse of civil engineering structures can be avoided if Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems can detect early potential failures and timely withdraw the structure from service ahead of a likely disaster. Structural safety is the leading reason for the implementation of SHM but also noteworthy is the cost reduction associated with routine maintenance and inspection. One of the remaining obstacles to fully implement SHM systems in our infrastructure deals with justifying their economic advantage. This paper proposes a rational framework for the use of SHM in the decision making process regarding the maintenance of civil engineering structures, based on the optimal setup of the damage detection system that yields the minimum associated deployment cost. Concepts such as Bayesian Theorem, Damage Index and Receiver Operating Characteristic curve are used in the proposed framework.
