Buildings - Application Note

BUILDING INSTRUMENTATION
& STRUCTURAL HEALTH
MONITORING

A SUCCESSFUL MONITORING PROGRAM REQUIRES AP-

PROPRIATE PLANNING, DESIGN AND EXECUTION. TO
FULLY MEET THE OBJECTIVES OF SUCH A PROGRAM,
SPECIAL ATTENTION MUST BE GIVEN TO THE SPECIFICI-
TIES OF EACH BUILDING THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

Highrise buildings and arenas/stadiums are complex struc-

tures. They are comprised of multiple elements and compo-
nents that become stressed and interact with one another
when exposed to external phenomena. Buildings vary widely in
size, geometry, structural systems, construction materials and
foundations characteristics. These attributes influence how a
building performs

References

 Helsinki Railway Station Roof Monitoring - Finland

 Wankdorf Stadium in Bern - Switzerland
 High-Rise Buildings in Singapore - Singapore
 Skyline Skyscraper in Cosenza - Italy
 Hyundai Building in Seoul - Korea
 Halifax Metro Center - Canada
 Nikken Sekkei Spiral Tower in Nagoya - Japan
 33-Floor High-Rise Building in Tokyo - Japan
 Tower Blocks Link Bridge - Singapore
 Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai - United Arab Emirates
 Milad Tower in Tehran - Iran

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BUILDING INSTRUMENTATION
& STRUCTURAL HEALTH
MONITORING
Structural Health Monitoring allows the rapid assessment of a
building’s health, and this approach is recognized as one of the
best means available to increase the safety and to optimize the
operational and maintenance activities of complex buildings.
The data resulting from monitoring programs allow owners to
improve the operation, the maintenance, the repair and the re-
placement of structures, based on reliable and objective data.
Detection of ongoing damage can be used to identify deviations
in design performance values. Monitoring data can be integrated
into structural management systems and increase the quality
and cost effectiveness of decisions by providing reliable and
unbiased information.
BUILDING INSTRUMENTATION
www.smartec.ch
Buildings - Application Note
Structural Health Monitoring provides reliable data on the actual
condition of a structure, observes its evolution and detects the
appearance of new degradations. Concrete will crack and creep
and steel will oxidize and may crack due to fatigue loading. The
degradation of materials is caused by mechanical factors
(loading higher than theoretically assumed) and physical-
chemical factors (corrosion of steel, penetration of salts and
chlorides in concrete, freezing concrete, etc.). A real-time pic-
ture of a building’s current state and evolution can be achieved
by permanently installing sensors and continuously measuring
relevant parameters.
Structural monitoring using the Roctest Group’s solutions repre-
sents valuable methods for increasing knowledge and ability to
assess the structural performance and integrity of complex build-
ings as well as for an analysis of more significantly dynamic
behavioral structures. For longterm solutions, static monitoring
requires very accurate and stable systems, able to relate meas-
urements often spaced over long periods of time, reliably pre-
serving the integrity and safety of the building.
  MuST Sensor with L-bracket (Front View)
  MuST Sensor with L-Bracket (Top View)
  Tri-axial accelerometer
  Bi-axial accelerometer
  Coupler
  Extension cable
  Inclinometer
  Central Measurement Point
(MuST Reading Unit, PC with enclosure)
  Anemometer
 
 Buildings - Application Note

BUILDING INSTRUMENTATION

 
 

 
 

STADIUM INSTRUMENTATION ARENA INSTRUMENTATION

   
  MuST Sensor with L-bracket (Front View)

  MuST Sensor with L-Bracket (Top View)

  Tri-axial accelerometer

  Bi-axial accelerometer

  Coupler

  Extension cable

  Inclinometer

  Central Measurement Point (MuST Rea-

ding Unit, PC with enclosure)

  Anemometer

www.smartec.ch 
 Buildings - Application Note

TOWER TYPICAL INSTRUMENTATION

 
 

  MuST Sensor with L-bracket (Front View)

  MuST Sensor with L-Bracket (Top View)

  Bi-axial inclinometer

  Bi-axial accelerometer

  Tri-axial accelerometerAnemometer

  Anemometer

  Intermediate Connection Box (ICB)

 
  Central Measurement Point

www.smartec.ch 
 Buildings - Application Note

BUILDING INSTRUMENTATION
Long base Interferometric & STRUCTURAL HEALTH
fiber optic analyser MONITORING
SOFO

Roctest
Long Base Sensor Roctest is the leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of
SOFO innovative sensing technologies based on vibrating wire and fiber
optic sensors for geotechnical and structural instrumentation.
We are featuring a complete line of conventional sensor-based
solutions ranging from the ultra-robust traditional vibrating wire
Distributed fiber optic technology to state-of-the-art fiber-optic technology used for the
Brillouin analyser measurement and monitoring of geotechnical projects and struc-
DiTeSt tural health monitoring (SHM) of critical assets such as: dams,
tunnels, mines, buildings, bridges, nuclear power plants and ma-
ny other structures too numerous to list.
Roctest offers a wide range of pressuremeters, rock dilatometers,
Distibuted fiber optic laboratory and in-situ testing equipment for soil and rock. 
Strain gauge
DiTest Smart tape II
Available Application Notes
 FO Leak Detection for Dams and Dikes
 Dam & Dike Instrumentation and Safety Monitoring
Fabry-Pérot fiber optic sen-  Tunnel Instrumentation & Structural Health Monitoring
sors - SFO-W  Bridge Instrumentation & Structural Health Monitoring
 Building Instrumentation & Structural Health Monitoring
 Historical Monument Instrumentation
 Geotechnical and Structural Monitoring
 Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation
Vibrating wire sensors  FO Movement Detection in Tunnels
Strain Gauge
 FO Leak Detection for Chemical Plants
EM Series
 FO Leak Detection for Pipelines
 Storage Facility Instrumentation
 Cliff Instrumentation

Electrolytic
Tiltmeter

Electrical sensors including

resistive, inductive, poten-
tiometric, magneto-resistive
types and LVDT

Smartec SA 
Via Pobie e 11  Phone  +41 91 610 18 00  Email  info@smatec.ch 
CH‐6928 Manno, Switzerland  Fax.      +41 91 610 18 01  Web    www.smartec.ch 
DOC: EAPN‐BUILDINGS_170305  SMARTEC SA reserves the right to make any changes in the specifica ons without prior no ce