Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering
Online course |
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50 hours / 6 weeks |
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Dates: 1st of July to 12th of August |
| Standard | Unemployed Or Student |
| $292 | $216 |
Introduction
Over the XX century, Europe has developed a mature and extensive park of Civil Engineering structures. Just as an example – the core of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) holds an impressive total length of 85,163 km (comprising both railway lines and roads). In such frame, some assets (e.g. bridges) are identified as critical, taking into account that through them several infrastructural functions are normally distributed (e.g. a road, a railway track, a subway track, electrical and gas lines, etc). Moreover, most of these assets were built as part of the post-World War II (1939-45) reconstruction effort, which means that we, as a society, are already experiencing the beginning of the end of their lifetime. Therefore, their maintenance and surveillance are becoming increasingly more influenced by life-cycle multi-objective performance criteria, which integrate economic, environmental and social factors.
On the other hand, and mainly since the beginning of this century, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems have been progressively explored, worldwide, on full-scale demonstration projects (e.g. bridges, tunnels, historic masonry buildings, wind parks), with a clear consensus among experts about their benefits and the necessity on having this explored more strategically and as integrant part of maintenance and surveillance procedures. Current applications of SHM systems have succeeded in assessing the strength of structures, location of damage if exist and identification and extraction of asset-specific features (e.g. vibration frequencies). Such information allows to reduce uncertainty on the real behaviour of the asset and therefore, helping to better decide next in the context of asset management.
More recently (mainly from 2014 onwards), worldwide experts in the field have been formulating a rational and strategic approach in the utilization of SHM in the context of decision-making. The objective is simple – to quantify the value of the collected data by SHM systems on Civil Engineering structures, before implementation, so the structural risk and integrity management might be efficiently optimized. This is something that owners and concessionaires of Civil Engineering structures always pursue to better planning the available budget.
Hence, and based on video tutorials, multimedia content and holistic coursework (divided into four main questions), this course offers the required knowledge to build expertise in a field that is in expansion in the market – Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering – taking benefit of the current era of digitization (Industry 4.0).
Objectives
This course aims to introduce the interested audience to the field of Structural Health Monitoring applied on Civil Engineering structures and explain how the data collected by these systems can support better assessment on Civil Engineering structures and therefore, saving lives and money.
In the medium- long-run, this course holds some merits in preparing the current and future generations of Civil Engineers and stakeholders involved to a new era that we are already embracing – the era of digitization (Industry 4.0).
In this context, the course objectives can be organized as follows (bottom-up):
- Understanding the concept of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied on Civil Engineering Structures,
- Understanding the concept of Performance Indicators and how to use them in the context of SHM,
- Identifying the main components and designing the requirements of a SHM system,
- Learning the set of good practices in the installation of SHM systems towards the acquisition of accurate and reliable data,
- Introduction to data processing towards the quantification of Performance Indicators,
- Quantifying how much SHM can benefit (e.g. on a monetary basis) in the context of decision-making.
In a bottom-up approach, the course is set in four main modules starting from the basic concept to the aimed decision-making process, mainly 4 modules:
Concept of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
Monitoring, what is it?
Performance Indicators, what is it based on?
Main components of a Structural Health Monitoring system
Sensors
Data acquisition systems
Communication systems
Data storage and processing
Performance indicators
Main components of a Structural Health Monitoring systemMain stages of implementation
Design, Installation and Maintenance
Validation based on Finite Element (FE) analysis
Knowledge extraction
Quantification on the value of SHM towards decision-making
Along the course, there will be a coursework with four tasks (each task performed at the end of each module). At the end of the project, students will get a practical case developed by them (with the support of the professor), covering all the main aspects of the four modules of the course. This will allow them to have the required holistic vision for successful exploitation of the acquired knowledge in their professional life.
Helder Sousa
Dr Helder Sousa is an expert, with 17 years of international experience and strong exposure to the industry sector, on Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied on Civil Engineering infrastructures and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey, UK.
With core expertise in Civil Engineering (PhD, 2012, http://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/68424), his scientific knowledge spans from (before PhD conclusion) advanced Finite Element Analysis of full-scale structures to (after PhD conclusion) Bayesian statistics and Value of Information theory, mainly single and sequential updating methods, passing through wide experience in tacking big-data streams collected by monitoring systems installed on full-scale bridges. Altogether makes Dr Sousa holding a holistic and singular profile with a comprehensive view and perception on the different levels of science, i.e. fundamental research and applied research.
With 42 conference papers, 15 scientific journal papers, 2 book chapters, more than 35 oral presentations in several countries of Europe and beyond, as well as 4 short-scientific missions at top leading R&D Institutes in Europe (ETH Zurich in Switzerland, TNO R&D institute in Netherlands, CEREMA in France and COWI in Denmark), makes Dr Sousa has one of the leading researchers in his research field.
Awarded with several research grants and consultancy funding, highlighting his Individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2015-17, http://www.lostprecon.eu/) and his recent role as the leader of the Innovation Committee of the European COST Action TU1402 – Quantifying the Value of Structural Health Monitoring, as a legal representative of the BRISA Group (2014-19, http://www.cost-tu1402.eu/Action/Innovation-Committee). Currently, he is Guest Editor in the top-ranked scientific journal Structure & Infrastructure Engineering and (co-)leads two special sessions in the next European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (Italy, 2020) and in the 13th ASCE Specialty Conference on Probabilistic Mechanics and Reliability (New York, 2020). His enrolment in scientific committees at the European level and wide experience in acting as a reviewer for national and international science councils is also a clear demonstration of his leadership and independence skills.
In the context of this course, the following publications on international top-scientific journals in the field of Civil Engineering might be of relevance for interested people:
- – Sousa, H. (2020) “Advanced FE modelling supported by monitoring towards management of large civil infrastructures – The case study of Lezíria Bridge.” Structural Concrete, the official journal of the fib (accepted for publication, 18th March 2020).
- – Sousa, H., A. Rozsas, A. Slobbe and W. Courage (2020). “A novel pro-active approach towards SHM-based bridge management supported by FE analysis and Bayesian methods.” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering 16(2): 233-246. (http://doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2019.1649287)
- – Sousa, H., L. O. Santos and M. Chryssanthopoulos (2019). “Quantifying monitoring requirements for predicting creep deformations through Bayesian updating methods.” Structural Safety 76: 40-50. (http://doi.org/10.1016/j.strusafe.2018.06.002)
- – Sousa, H., B. J. A. Costa, A. A. Henriques, J. Bento and J. A. Figueiras (2016). “Assessment of traffic load events and structural effects on road bridges based on strain measurements.” Journal of Civil Engineering and Management 22(4): 457-469. (http://doi.org/10.3846/13923730.2014.897991)
- – Sousa, H., J. Bento and J. Figueiras (2014). “Assessment and Management of Concrete Bridges Supported by Monitoring Data-Based Finite-Element Modeling.” Journal of Bridge Engineering 19(6): 05014002. (http://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000604)
The course is delivered online through our easy-to-use Virtual Campus platform. For this course, a variety of content is provided including:
– eLearning materials
– Videos
– Interactive multimedia content
– Live webinar classes
– Texts and technical articles
– Case studies
– Assignments and evaluation exercises
Students can display the materials and work through the course at their own pace.
We regularly update this course to ensure the latest news and state-of-the-art developments are covered, and your knowledge of the subject is current.
Live webinars form part of our course. These allow students and tutors to go through the course materials, exchange ideas and knowledge, and solve problems together in a virtual classroom setting. Students can also make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point to interact with tutors and other students.
The tutoring system is managed by email. Students can email the tutor with any questions about the course and the tutor will be happy to help.
The course Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering is a multidisciplinary course that builds around the assessment and design of Civil Engineering structures.
The course is structured on a bottom-up approach, meaning that no special knowledge is required in the subject. Hence, this course might be of interest to (but not limited, of course):
- – Graduated engineers with interest in better understanding the components that an SHM system holds,
- – Postgraduate engineers with interest to understand how data collected by these systems can be useful for a better assessment of Civil Engineering structures,
- – Researchers aiming to achieve new knowledge based on data collected by SHM system,
Owners and other stakeholders aiming to understand how the data collected by SHM systems can be used to support the decision-making process.
Once a student finishes the course and successfully completes the assignments and evaluation tests, they are sent an accreditation certificate. The certificate is issued by Ingeoexpert to verify that the student has passed the course. It is a digital certificate that is unique and tamper-proof – it is protected by Blockchain technology. This means it is possible for anyone to check that it is an authentic, original document.
You will be able to download the certificate in an electronic format from the Virtual Campus platform. The certificate can be forwarded by email, shared on social networks, and embedded on websites. To see an example, click here.
The field of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied to Civil Engineering structures is in strong expansion by taking advantage of the current era of digitization (Industry 4.0) that we, as a society, are living based on digital technologies. Indeed, data collection and the data processing of big-data streams are supporting emerging markets in several fields of engineering and beyond (e.g. Social Sciences). Taking into account the multidisciplinarity of this course, the following job prospects are envisaged, mainly:
- – Consultant on system designer and provider
- – Inspector on SHM systems installed in-situ
- – Advanced structural engineering analyst
- – Data-analyst to support decision-making
Introduction
Over the XX century, Europe has developed a mature and extensive park of Civil Engineering structures. Just as an example – the core of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) holds an impressive total length of 85,163 km (comprising both railway lines and roads). In such frame, some assets (e.g. bridges) are identified as critical, taking into account that through them several infrastructural functions are normally distributed (e.g. a road, a railway track, a subway track, electrical and gas lines, etc). Moreover, most of these assets were built as part of the post-World War II (1939-45) reconstruction effort, which means that we, as a society, are already experiencing the beginning of the end of their lifetime. Therefore, their maintenance and surveillance are becoming increasingly more influenced by life-cycle multi-objective performance criteria, which integrate economic, environmental and social factors.
On the other hand, and mainly since the beginning of this century, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems have been progressively explored, worldwide, on full-scale demonstration projects (e.g. bridges, tunnels, historic masonry buildings, wind parks), with a clear consensus among experts about their benefits and the necessity on having this explored more strategically and as integrant part of maintenance and surveillance procedures. Current applications of SHM systems have succeeded in assessing the strength of structures, location of damage if exist and identification and extraction of asset-specific features (e.g. vibration frequencies). Such information allows to reduce uncertainty on the real behaviour of the asset and therefore, helping to better decide next in the context of asset management.
More recently (mainly from 2014 onwards), worldwide experts in the field have been formulating a rational and strategic approach in the utilization of SHM in the context of decision-making. The objective is simple – to quantify the value of the collected data by SHM systems on Civil Engineering structures, before implementation, so the structural risk and integrity management might be efficiently optimized. This is something that owners and concessionaires of Civil Engineering structures always pursue to better planning the available budget.
Hence, and based on video tutorials, multimedia content and holistic coursework (divided into four main questions), this course offers the required knowledge to build expertise in a field that is in expansion in the market – Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering – taking benefit of the current era of digitization (Industry 4.0).
Objectives
This course aims to introduce the interested audience to the field of Structural Health Monitoring applied on Civil Engineering structures and explain how the data collected by these systems can support better assessment on Civil Engineering structures and therefore, saving lives and money.
In the medium- long-run, this course holds some merits in preparing the current and future generations of Civil Engineers and stakeholders involved to a new era that we are already embracing – the era of digitization (Industry 4.0).
In this context, the course objectives can be organized as follows (bottom-up):
- Understanding the concept of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied on Civil Engineering Structures,
- Understanding the concept of Performance Indicators and how to use them in the context of SHM,
- Identifying the main components and designing the requirements of a SHM system,
- Learning the set of good practices in the installation of SHM systems towards the acquisition of accurate and reliable data,
- Introduction to data processing towards the quantification of Performance Indicators,
- Quantifying how much SHM can benefit (e.g. on a monetary basis) in the context of decision-making.
In a bottom-up approach, the course is set in four main modules starting from the basic concept to the aimed decision-making process, mainly 4 modules:
Concept of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
Monitoring, what is it?
Performance Indicators, what is it based on?
Main components of a Structural Health Monitoring system
Sensors
Data acquisition systems
Communication systems
Data storage and processing
Performance indicators
Main components of a Structural Health Monitoring systemMain stages of implementation
Design, Installation and Maintenance
Validation based on Finite Element (FE) analysis
Knowledge extraction
Quantification on the value of SHM towards decision-making
Along the course, there will be a coursework with four tasks (each task performed at the end of each module). At the end of the project, students will get a practical case developed by them (with the support of the professor), covering all the main aspects of the four modules of the course. This will allow them to have the required holistic vision for successful exploitation of the acquired knowledge in their professional life.
Helder Sousa
Dr Helder Sousa is an expert, with 17 years of international experience and strong exposure to the industry sector, on Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied on Civil Engineering infrastructures and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey, UK.
With core expertise in Civil Engineering (PhD, 2012, http://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/68424), his scientific knowledge spans from (before PhD conclusion) advanced Finite Element Analysis of full-scale structures to (after PhD conclusion) Bayesian statistics and Value of Information theory, mainly single and sequential updating methods, passing through wide experience in tacking big-data streams collected by monitoring systems installed on full-scale bridges. Altogether makes Dr Sousa holding a holistic and singular profile with a comprehensive view and perception on the different levels of science, i.e. fundamental research and applied research.
With 42 conference papers, 15 scientific journal papers, 2 book chapters, more than 35 oral presentations in several countries of Europe and beyond, as well as 4 short-scientific missions at top leading R&D Institutes in Europe (ETH Zurich in Switzerland, TNO R&D institute in Netherlands, CEREMA in France and COWI in Denmark), makes Dr Sousa has one of the leading researchers in his research field.
Awarded with several research grants and consultancy funding, highlighting his Individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2015-17, http://www.lostprecon.eu/) and his recent role as the leader of the Innovation Committee of the European COST Action TU1402 – Quantifying the Value of Structural Health Monitoring, as a legal representative of the BRISA Group (2014-19, http://www.cost-tu1402.eu/Action/Innovation-Committee). Currently, he is Guest Editor in the top-ranked scientific journal Structure & Infrastructure Engineering and (co-)leads two special sessions in the next European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (Italy, 2020) and in the 13th ASCE Specialty Conference on Probabilistic Mechanics and Reliability (New York, 2020). His enrolment in scientific committees at the European level and wide experience in acting as a reviewer for national and international science councils is also a clear demonstration of his leadership and independence skills.
In the context of this course, the following publications on international top-scientific journals in the field of Civil Engineering might be of relevance for interested people:
- – Sousa, H. (2020) “Advanced FE modelling supported by monitoring towards management of large civil infrastructures – The case study of Lezíria Bridge.” Structural Concrete, the official journal of the fib (accepted for publication, 18th March 2020).
- – Sousa, H., A. Rozsas, A. Slobbe and W. Courage (2020). “A novel pro-active approach towards SHM-based bridge management supported by FE analysis and Bayesian methods.” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering 16(2): 233-246. (http://doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2019.1649287)
- – Sousa, H., L. O. Santos and M. Chryssanthopoulos (2019). “Quantifying monitoring requirements for predicting creep deformations through Bayesian updating methods.” Structural Safety 76: 40-50. (http://doi.org/10.1016/j.strusafe.2018.06.002)
- – Sousa, H., B. J. A. Costa, A. A. Henriques, J. Bento and J. A. Figueiras (2016). “Assessment of traffic load events and structural effects on road bridges based on strain measurements.” Journal of Civil Engineering and Management 22(4): 457-469. (http://doi.org/10.3846/13923730.2014.897991)
- – Sousa, H., J. Bento and J. Figueiras (2014). “Assessment and Management of Concrete Bridges Supported by Monitoring Data-Based Finite-Element Modeling.” Journal of Bridge Engineering 19(6): 05014002. (http://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000604)
The course is delivered online through our easy-to-use Virtual Campus platform. For this course, a variety of content is provided including:
– eLearning materials
– Videos
– Interactive multimedia content
– Live webinar classes
– Texts and technical articles
– Case studies
– Assignments and evaluation exercises
Students can display the materials and work through the course at their own pace.
We regularly update this course to ensure the latest news and state-of-the-art developments are covered, and your knowledge of the subject is current.
Live webinars form part of our course. These allow students and tutors to go through the course materials, exchange ideas and knowledge, and solve problems together in a virtual classroom setting. Students can also make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point to interact with tutors and other students.
The tutoring system is managed by email. Students can email the tutor with any questions about the course and the tutor will be happy to help.
The course Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering is a multidisciplinary course that builds around the assessment and design of Civil Engineering structures.
The course is structured on a bottom-up approach, meaning that no special knowledge is required in the subject. Hence, this course might be of interest to (but not limited, of course):
- – Graduated engineers with interest in better understanding the components that an SHM system holds,
- – Postgraduate engineers with interest to understand how data collected by these systems can be useful for a better assessment of Civil Engineering structures,
- – Researchers aiming to achieve new knowledge based on data collected by SHM system,
Owners and other stakeholders aiming to understand how the data collected by SHM systems can be used to support the decision-making process.
Once a student finishes the course and successfully completes the assignments and evaluation tests, they are sent an accreditation certificate. The certificate is issued by Ingeoexpert to verify that the student has passed the course. It is a digital certificate that is unique and tamper-proof – it is protected by Blockchain technology. This means it is possible for anyone to check that it is an authentic, original document.
You will be able to download the certificate in an electronic format from the Virtual Campus platform. The certificate can be forwarded by email, shared on social networks, and embedded on websites. To see an example, click here.
The field of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applied to Civil Engineering structures is in strong expansion by taking advantage of the current era of digitization (Industry 4.0) that we, as a society, are living based on digital technologies. Indeed, data collection and the data processing of big-data streams are supporting emerging markets in several fields of engineering and beyond (e.g. Social Sciences). Taking into account the multidisciplinarity of this course, the following job prospects are envisaged, mainly:
- – Consultant on system designer and provider
- – Inspector on SHM systems installed in-situ
- – Advanced structural engineering analyst
- – Data-analyst to support decision-making
7 reviews for Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering
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Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering
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Structural Health Monitoring to support decision-making in Civil Engineering
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Mojtaba Khayatazad –
I am doing a Ph.D. at Gent University (Belgium) and I am researching in the field of crack detection using the electromechanical impedance-based method and corrosion detection using image processing.
As a researcher, I have to deeply dive into these topics but meanwhile, I need to know different topics in structural health monitoring.
So I decided to follow this course.
In total, I am satisfied with this course since it presented for me new topics that are useful from a practical point of view (design an SHM plan, Installation, maintenance, verification, …). Personally, The last module of this course which is related to the decision tree was very interesting for me. I did the coursework and understood how I can convince owners that SHM is essential for their infrastructure and how the quality of applied sensors can increase or decrease the added value of SHM.
I really recommend this course for students and I believe this course is essential for those people thinking about SHM as their career field.
In this course, different sensors are introduced which are useful and I think Professor Sousa can enrich this course by introducing some of the available SHM techniques available in the market like a guided wave, ultrasonic testing, acoustic emission.
Professor Sousa is always warmly responsive and he can fluently and effectively deliver this course to students.
Best regards,
Mojtaba Khayatazad
Richelle Zafra –
This course is interesting and useful. While highly technical, the coursework made us dig deeper into the topic by reviewing related studies/work on the specific modules.
I appreciated the mentor’s detailed feedback on all the coursework helping me in the learning process. He really shares his expertise and his objective of making students learn by explaining the module topics in simple terms and his constructive feedback on the coursework.
Rahaf Sheikh Alard –
I am coming from a seismic engineering background, so this course added significantly to my knowledge about the SHM topic, and let me figure out the SHM from different perspectives. The last module of making a decision was very interesting. The coursework and the instructor’s feedback were really helpful in the learning. I definitely recommend this course for civil engineers who are interested in SHM.
Joaquin Gonzalez –
As the responsible of developing SHM in my company, the course was of great usefulness. The contents are suitable to someone that wants to get a first insight on the field, as was mi case.
The professor was always available to answer questions and commented the excercises several times in order to help us achieve a good result.
José Manuel Olmos Noguera –
This course is highly recommended for engineers who want to enter the world of SHM. In this course you not only learn about sensors, data acquisition systems, tools to store and process data, but also about objectives, performance indicators and assessment of the monitoring system for decision making. Professor of the course is an expert in the field and a very good communicator. The teaching material, videos, note-lectures, etc. have good quality. Thank you for this course!
Franco Venegas Mograve –
I liked the course because it gives you the basic concepts to start studying SHM systems. I am an structural engineer so I have a little background, but I feel like anyone can learn through this course. The course is challenging and you have to research a lot of information to summarize it in every assigment, which is very good in my opinion, since it is a practical way to understand and internalize the concepts of SHM and have a better knowledge to make decisions around it.
Mr Helder (the professor) is always available to answer questions and guide you through the course, pushing you to get out of your comfort zone and getting the best of it.
I highly recommend this course to begin learning about SHM systems and their value, since the value is what will help you to take decisions.
Franco Venegas Mograve –
I liked the course because it gives you the basic concepts to start studying SHM systems. I am an structural engineer so I have a little background, but I feel like anyone can learn through this course. The course is challenging and you have to research a lot of information to summarize it in every assigment, which is very good in my opinion, since it is a practical way to understand and internalize the concepts of SHM and have a better knowledge to make decisions around it.
Mr Helder (the professor) is always available to answer questions and guide you through the course, pushing you to get out of your comfort zone and getting the best of it.
I highly recommend this course to begin learning about SHM systems and their value, since the value is what will help you to take decisions.