Background and motivation

Engineering structures, such as bridges, buildings and tunnels, are subject to continuous degradation caused by ageing and environmental impacts. Predictive maintenance based on sensor data collected by structural health monitoring systems is increasingly pursued to advance optimal life-cycle decision making. The rapid advancements achieved in sensor technologies in the past several years offer considerable opportunities to increase the reliability, cost-efficiency, and sustainability of SHM systems. A promising means to advance SHM is to embed intelligent sensors directly into concrete.

Project goals and expected outcome

This PhD project aims to develop a methodology towards deploying intelligent sensor systems based on radio-frequency identification (RFID), to be embedded into concrete. Focusing on the corrosion of reinforced concrete, emphasis will be put on monitoring the condition of building material, such reinforced concrete, screed and special concrete, and on developing a concept to measure and to detect concrete parameter at critical points. As a result, it is expected to propose a novel method towards reliable, cost-efficient, and sustainable SHM. The PhD project is carried out in collaboration with the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). Figure 1 shows a prototype RFID-based sensor developed at BAM for embedment into concrete to monitor moisture and temperature in the context of corrosion detection.