Biobased structures monitoring

Monitoring of biobased structures is in many cases related to moisture content measurements, to check and prevent decay in properties of load-bearing elements.

Therefore, a continuous monitoring of existing structures is important to preserve and maintain our cultural heritage. However, at the same time, in new buildings remote monitoring systems can be directly included in the structural elements.

Monitoring is thus one of the pillars for service life assessment of structures, and the collection of data contributes to improve predictions of remaining service life and future use of existing structures.

Our group is involved in the following monitoring-related activities:

  • Creation of an algorithm for the detection and analysis of cracks development in timber beams from LiDAR data.
  • Quality assessment of standing trees using 3D laser-scanning, to optimize both forest management and conversion process and determine the wood quality in an early stage.
  • Resistance measurement of timber hydraulic structures by means of the micro-drilling technique, which allows to detect decayed areas, cracks and juvenile wood.
  • Vibration and static measurements of existing timber structures.
  • Monitoring of leaf movements of plants by means of terrestrial LiDAR.
  • Monitoring and fatigue testing of steel-grid timber bridge decks for truck wheels (video)

Furthermore, our group is part of the Monitoring Community of the Department of Engineering Structures.


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