Structural health monitoring, damage detection and long-term performance
Many countries around the world now include among their infrastructure a large number of ageing buildings, towers, bridges, tunnels, dams and other structures, which require inspection from time to time to ascertain that they are still safe and capable of withstanding various environmental effects. Such inspections and associated non-destructive testing procedures can reveal progressive damage, and allow appropriate repair measures to be taken before the damage deteriorates to the extent of making the structure unserviceable. Even for new infrastructure, particularly large structures with high initial construction costs, it is now recognized that monitoring programmes are desirable right from the outset in order to detect any signs of damage as early as possible, and allow appropriate interventions to be taken. Programmes of this nature, if properly implemented, can extend the useful life of the structure quite considerably, with the utility value gained more than justifying the costs of the monitoring itself. This philosophy has gained considerable momentum in areas such as China (including Hong Kong), Singapore and Japan, where high-rise buildings and long-span bridges are abundant. However, this thinking is more widespread, and much research on the issues of monitoring, damage detection and long-term performance of structures is going on not only in Asia, but also in America (USA and Canada) and Europe (Germany, Belgium, UK, etc.). The realm of large and expensive structures has extended beyond very tall buildings and long-span bridges, to facilities such as cooling towers at power stations, mountain and sub-sea tunnels, dam arches and harbour protection structures.
This special issue comprises a selection of 12 papers on structural health monitoring, damage detection and long-term performance of structures, presented at SEMC 2004, the Second International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation. This conference was held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 4 to 7 July 2004, and was attended by more than 250 participants representing 42 countries from all five continents.