de Leeuw, Bart; (2004) Analysis and assessment of structural integrity monitoring. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Preview

Text Analysis_and_assessment_of_str.pdf Download (46MB) | Preview

Abstract

This thesis presents an investigation of Structural Integrity Monitoring (SIM). Considerable advances in computing and sensor technology over the last decade have generated an increase in interest and Research and Development activities in this field. A critical review is presented on the benefits that may be derived by implementing such techniques as well as some of the issues that need to be overcome to make this feasible. An increasingly important but often overlooked issue is the lack of performance assessment procedures for state-of-the-art Structural Integrity Monitoring systems. Such measures are necessary in order to establish a level of confidence in the quality of the monitored information recorded and used for the subsequent structural assessment. This thesis presents a new approach for quantitatively assessing the performance of stress monitoring systems in the form of a Structural Integrity Monitoring Index (SIMdex). The SIMdex not only takes into account the damage models related to the host structure but also the stage in the lifetime of the structure, recognising that the accuracy of the SIM system is more important as failure is approached. It enables direct comparisons to be made between different systems and facilitates the objective selection of the best monitoring system for the particular application being considered. The SIMdex models are verified using a series of simulated data sets as well as real fatigue crack growth data for offshore tubular joints obtained from previous research carried out at University College London. The implications of Structural Integrity Monitoring on Reliability Based Assessment (RBA) are also investigated. Particular attention is given to the inclusion of quality assessment information such as Probability of Detection and the SIMdex into this form of analysis. Finally, the elements discussed above are put to practice during the development of a new remote Stress Monitoring Technology (SMT). A series of full scale stress monitoring trials on a number of high profile UK Rail applications were carried out and show SMT to be an invaluable tool for both the installation and long term monitoring of these rail applications. Further full scale trials relate to the continuous stress monitoring during building construction operations. Results showed large discrepancies in the predictive load models used during construction and highlighted how SIM can help improve safety during such operations.

Download activity - last month

Export as XMLCSVJSON

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as XMLCSVJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as JSONCSVXML

Archive Staff Only

View Item