Vibration measurement and monitoring play a pivotal role in the field of civil engineering. Buildings and other structures may be subjected to vibrations from different sources, such as road traffic, rail traffic, nearby worksites or mines; in the case of large structures such as bridges, levees and high-rises, seismic events and strong winds.
The vibrations produced by these elements can cause structural damage and create distress to nearby residents.
Large-scale structures, such as bridges, dams, tall buildings and power plants, may be subjected to strongly severe environmental conditions, in terms of induced vibrations that can cause structural damage; or it could also be that ongoing operations in such structures would need to be suspended for safety reasons.
There are external events that might come into play, such as seismic events, events caused by wind, especially in structures like suspension bridges and tall buildings; there could be waves affecting bridges or excessive road traffic, which produces structural damage over time.
Vibration monitoring in such cases can serve to determine vibration levels and provide insight about whether, in the unfolding of a severe event and/or prolonged exposure to vibrations, a given structure has deteriorated, and what the nature of such deterioration is.
The most used approach involves dynamic investigations requiring thorough knowledge as to how the structure behaves. Such investigations entail the identification of parameters and their characteristic modal forms, frequencies, and damping, whose variations are monitored over time.
Sequoia IT offers advanced solutions for this monitoring field, such as the GEA Line. Read more.
