Feasibility Study of Signal Processing Techniques for Vibration-Based Structural Health Monitoring in Residential...

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Materials Science
• Structural Engineering

Background:

• Residential buildings face increasing risks from seismic activity and dynamic loads.
• Effective Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is crucial for ensuring building safety and longevity.
• Current SHM methods require enhancement for real-time damage detection in diverse structural conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of piezoelectric sensors for vibration-based SHM in residential structures.
• To integrate advanced signal processing techniques like Power Spectral Density (PSD) and Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) for enhanced damage detection.
• To establish a low-cost, scalable SHM framework for early identification of structural degradation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a scaled three-story building prototype.
• Controlled base excitations simulating seismic and dynamic loading conditions (25 Hz, 0.6 g).
• Evaluation of piezoelectric sensor responses under healthy, random damage, and thickness-damage scenarios using PSD and STFT analysis.

Main Results:

• Structural damage significantly altered piezoelectric sensor outputs, manifesting as signal dispersion and additional frequency harmonics.
• PSD analysis effectively indicated changes in energy distribution due to structural degradation.
• STFT provided detailed time-frequency insights, enabling real-time damage detection capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Piezoelectric sensors combined with PSD and STFT offer a viable solution for early damage detection in residential buildings.
• This integrated approach provides a practical framework for improving structural resilience against seismic and dynamic forces.
• The developed SHM system is cost-effective and scalable for widespread application in residential structures.