ABSTRACT
Assessment of infrastructure conditions is currently a topic of great importance, but also a challenging one. Many significant pieces of infrastructure were built decades ago and have, since then been exposed to load cycles, weather, special events, and all other design scenarios. During this time period, a structure will experience structural degradation and reduction in remaining service life. In addition, over such a long time span, service conditions are likely to change and other phenomena can occur with unknown effects on the structures, which may not have been taken into consideration during original design. This spontaneously raises questions about the structure’s condition and real time performance. Such questions are typically driven by a limited confidence in performance, directly stemming from limited information available. A monitoring system provides comprehensive information about the structures status and provides vital support for Engineers and Asset Managers involved in decision-making processes.
