Ensuring Infrastructure integrity with Structural Health Monitoring

What is Structural Health Monitoring?

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a tool to ensure the longevity and operational integrity of critical infrastructure. It can be applied to various industries, including construction, rail, and road maintenance. By tracking the condition and performance of structures over time, Structural Health Monitoring helps stakeholders to maintain the highest standards of safety and efficiency throughout the asset’s lifecycle.

Designed to support long-term asset management strategies, particularly for assets with lifecycles extending five years or more. SHM solutions provide proactive insights into structural changes. This early detection capability allows you to quickly identify and resolve potential issues before they escalate, minimising downtime and extending the lifespan of your assets.

Our Structural Health Monitoring technology seamlessly integrates with your existing Building Management Systems (BMS) or Asset Management Systems (AMS). This enhances your ability to monitor and manage your infrastructure effectively. Whether you’re overseeing construction projects, operating rail networks, or maintaining roadways, SHM solutions offer the precision, reliability, and ease of integration needed to optimise performance and ensure regulatory compliance.

Structural Health Monitoring: The Sky Pool, Embassy Gardens

The Sky Pool at the Embassy Gardens in Wandsworth is a pioneering architectural project, featuring the world’s first floating pool. During its critical hydrotest phase, ensuring the structural integrity of the acrylic pool was essential. Our task was to monitor the pool’s structural performance accurately and efficiently, providing essential data to the engineering teams.

Ensuring Structural Integrity

We mobilised an expert team to install an advanced autonomous monitoring system. This setup was designed to measure the horizontal and vertical relative deflections of the pool’s acrylic structure, steel vessels, and support structures. Incorporating both automatic and manual monitoring, the system provided continuous data visualisation and real-time alerts for any critical deflection rates.

The installation presented significant challenges, including the need for millimetre-perfect positioning of intricate instrumentation under tight time constraints. We applied a comprehensive approach, utilising flat-mesh wireless sensors, vibrating wire sensors, and multiple Automatic Total Stations (ATS), facilitated seamless, real-time data interpretation throughout the hydrotest phases.

The Results: Assurance and Efficiency

Our monitoring solutions delivered accurate, real-time insights into the pool’s structural behaviour, enabling informed decision-making. The pool performed as designed, offering reassurance to all stakeholders involved. This case underscores the critical role of structural health monitoring and illustrates why Murphy Geospatial is the partner of choice for ensuring the safety and success of ground=breaking architectural projects.

More information on Structural Health Monitoring here.