A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring

Offshore or drydock inspection performed by trained surveyors is required within the integrity management of an in-service marine structure to ensure safety and fitness for purpose. However, these physical inspection activities can lead to a considerable increase in lifecycle cost and significant do...

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Main Authors: Shen Li, Andrea Coraddu, Feargal Brennan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-11-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/12/1819
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author Shen Li
Andrea Coraddu
Feargal Brennan
author_facet Shen Li
Andrea Coraddu
Feargal Brennan
author_sort Shen Li
collection DOAJ
description Offshore or drydock inspection performed by trained surveyors is required within the integrity management of an in-service marine structure to ensure safety and fitness for purpose. However, these physical inspection activities can lead to a considerable increase in lifecycle cost and significant downtime, and they can impose hazards for the surveyors. To this end, the use of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system could be an effective resolution. One of the key performance indicators of an SHM system is its ability to predict the structural response of unmonitored locations by using monitored data, i.e., an inverse prediction problem. This is highly relevant in practical engineering, since monitoring can only be performed at limited and discrete locations, and it is likely that structurally critical areas are inaccessible for the installation of sensors. An accurate inverse prediction can be achieved, ideally, via a dense sensor network such that more data can be provided. However, this is usually economically unfeasible due to budget limits. Hence, to improve the monitoring performance of an SHM system, an optimal sensor placement should be developed. This paper introduces a framework for optimising the sensor placement scheme to support SHM. The framework is demonstrated with an illustrative example to optimise the sensor placement of a cantilever steel plate. The inverse prediction problem is addressed by using a radial basis function approach, and the optimisation is carried out by means of an evolutionary algorithm. The results obtained from the demonstration support the proposal.
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spelling doaj.art-21c81932834647f8b78c52fb34f96c0e2023-11-24T15:54:50ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-11-011012181910.3390/jmse10121819A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health MonitoringShen Li0Andrea Coraddu1Feargal Brennan2Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, UKFaculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2600 AA Delft, The NetherlandsDepartment of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, UKOffshore or drydock inspection performed by trained surveyors is required within the integrity management of an in-service marine structure to ensure safety and fitness for purpose. However, these physical inspection activities can lead to a considerable increase in lifecycle cost and significant downtime, and they can impose hazards for the surveyors. To this end, the use of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system could be an effective resolution. One of the key performance indicators of an SHM system is its ability to predict the structural response of unmonitored locations by using monitored data, i.e., an inverse prediction problem. This is highly relevant in practical engineering, since monitoring can only be performed at limited and discrete locations, and it is likely that structurally critical areas are inaccessible for the installation of sensors. An accurate inverse prediction can be achieved, ideally, via a dense sensor network such that more data can be provided. However, this is usually economically unfeasible due to budget limits. Hence, to improve the monitoring performance of an SHM system, an optimal sensor placement should be developed. This paper introduces a framework for optimising the sensor placement scheme to support SHM. The framework is demonstrated with an illustrative example to optimise the sensor placement of a cantilever steel plate. The inverse prediction problem is addressed by using a radial basis function approach, and the optimisation is carried out by means of an evolutionary algorithm. The results obtained from the demonstration support the proposal.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/12/1819structural health monitoringoptimisationstructural integrityevolutionary algorithmstress concentration
spellingShingle Shen Li
Andrea Coraddu
Feargal Brennan
A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
structural health monitoring
optimisation
structural integrity
evolutionary algorithm
stress concentration
title A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
title_full A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
title_fullStr A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
title_full_unstemmed A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
title_short A Framework for Optimal Sensor Placement to Support Structural Health Monitoring
title_sort framework for optimal sensor placement to support structural health monitoring
topic structural health monitoring
optimisation
structural integrity
evolutionary algorithm
stress concentration
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/12/1819
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