Chapter 2

Introduction
The structural health monitoring requires identification of degradation mechanisms with its associated
risks. The SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) system is designed to detect the degradation of
structures [1]. The damage in buildings results in tremendous economic loss and claimed numerous
human lives [2].

The background work and literature review

The process of implementing a damage identification strategy for aerospace, civil and
mechanical engineering infrastructure is referred to as structural health monitoring (SHM). Here,
damage is defined as changes to the material and/or geometric properties of these systems, including
changes to the boundary conditions and system connectivity, which adversely affect the system’s
performance. A wide variety of highly effective local non-destructive evaluation tools are available
for such monitoring. However, the majority of SHM research conducted over the last 30 years has
attempted to identify damage in structures on a more global basis. The past 10 years have seen a rapid
increase in the amount of research related to SHM as quantified by the significant escalation in papers
published on this subject. The increased interest in SHM and its associated potential for significant
life-safety and economic benefits has motivated the need for this theme issue.

In terms of length-scales, all damage begins at the material level. Although not necessarily a
universally accepted terminology, such damage is referred to as a defect or flaw and is present to
some degree in all materials. Under appropriate loading scenarios, the defects or flaws grow and
coalesce at various rates to cause component and then system-level damage. The term damage does
not necessarily imply a total loss of system functionality, but rather that the system is no longer
operating in its optimal manner. As the damage grows, it will reach a point where it affects the system
operation to a point that is no longer acceptable to the user. This point is referred to as failure. In
terms of time-scales, damage can accumulate incrementally over long periods of time such as that
associated with fatigue or corrosion damage accumulation. On relatively shorter time-scales, damage
can also result from scheduled discrete events such as aircraft landings and from unscheduled discrete
events such as enemy fire on a military vehicle or natural phenomena hazards such as earthquakes.

This process involves the observation of a structure or mechanical system over time using
periodically spaced measurements, the extraction of damage-sensitive features from these
measurements and the statistical analysis of these features to determine the current state of system
health. For long-term SHM, the output of this process is periodically updated information regarding
the ability of the structure to continue to perform its intended function in light of the inevitable aging
and damage accumulation resulting from the operational environments. Under an extreme event, such
as an earthquake or unanticipated blast loading, SHM is used for rapid condition screening. This
screening is intended to provide, in near real-time, reliable information about system performance
during such extreme events and the subsequent integrity of the system. A more detailed description of
SHM can be found in Worden & Dulieu-Barton (2004).

Damage identification is carried out in conjunction with five closely related disciplines that
include SHM, condition monitoring (CM; Bentley & Hatch 2003), non-destructive evaluation (NDE;
Shull 2002), statistical process control (SPC; Montgomery 1997) and damage prognosis (DP; which
is summarized within this theme issue in Farrar & Lieven (2007); see also Farrar et al. (2003)).
Typically, SHM is associated with online–global damage identification in structural systems such as
aircraft and buildings. CM is analogous to SHM, but addresses damage identification in rotating and
reciprocating machinery, such as those used in manufacturing and power generation. NDE is usually
carried out off-line in a local manner after the damage has been located. There are exceptions to this
rule, as NDE is also used as a monitoring tool for in situ structures such as pressure vessels and rails.
NDE is therefore primarily used for damage characterization and as a severity check when there is a
priori knowledge of the damage location. SPC is process-based rather than structure-based and uses a
variety of sensors to monitor changes in a process, one cause of which can result from structural
damage. Once damage has been detected, DP is used to predict the remaining useful life of a system.
This theme issue will primarily address SHM and CM, and will conclude with an article that
introduces the damage prognosis problem.

Benefits of SHM [1]

The benefits of having a Structural Health Monitoring system installed on a building or any
significant structure are many and depend on the specific application. Here are the more common
ones:
1. Monitoring reduces uncertainty
2. Monitoring discovers hidden structural reserves
3. Monitoring discovers deficiencies in time and increases safety
4. Monitoring insures long-term quality
5. Monitoring allows structural management
6. Monitoring increases knowledge
 Chapter 3

Sensors used in SHM

There are various sensors used in SHM like accelerometer, displacement, corrosion, Humidity, strain
etc.

3.1 Accelerometer
The following features further characterize ICP sensors:
 Fixed voltage sensitivity, regardless of cable type or length.
 Low-impedance output signal, which can be transmitted over long cables in harsh environments
with virtually no loss in signal quality.
 Two-wire operation with low cost coaxial cable, two-conductor ribbon wire or twisted-pair
cabling.
 Low-noise, voltage-output signal compatible with standard readout, signal analysis, recording,
and data acquisition equipment.
 Intrinsic self-test feature – monitoring the sensor’s output bias voltage provides the complete
performance characteristics of your particular sensor.

We are using 393B12 accelerometer sensor from PCB piezotronics along with signal conditioner
480C02 as shown in Table1.This accelerometer sensor is used to detect the natural frequency or
acceleration of building.
Table 1.Characteristics of Accelerometer sensor 393B12

S.NO. PERFORMANCE ENGLISH

1. Sensitivity (±10 %) 10000 mV/g

2. Measurement Range 0.5 g pk

3. Frequency Range (±5 %) 0.15 to 1000 Hz

4. Frequency Range (±10 %) 0.10 to 2000 Hz

5. Frequency Range (±3 dB) 0.05 to 4000 Hz

Electrical

6. Excitation Voltage 18 to 30 VDC

7. Constant Current Excitation 2 to 20 mA

8. Output Bias Voltage 2 to 20 mA

9. Settling Time <60 sec

3.2 Displacement sensor
Displacement sensors measure the distance an object moves and they can also be used to measure
object height and width as in Figure1.

Figure 1. M-DVRT Microminiature Displacement Sensor

Specifications

Table 5. Electrical Specifications Obtained using DEMOD-DVRT® and DVRT®

with 800 Hz low pass filter at constant temperature
 1 Linear Stroke Lengths 3, 6 & 9 mm (standard version)
.
1.5 mm (high resolution version

2 Accuracy Accuracy ± 1.5% using straight line

.

3 Sensitivity Sensitivity DEMOD output/sensor range

.

4 Signal to noise 2000 to 1 (with filter 3 dB down at

.
800 Hz, standard); 600 to 1 (unfiltered)

noise measured peak to peak

5 Resolution Resolution 1.5 μm for 3 mm stroke

.

6 Frequency response Frequency response 800 Hz standard, 20 kHz optional

.

7 Temperature coefficient offset 0.0029%/ °C (typical) span 0.030%/ °C (typical)

.

8 Hysteresis ±1 micron
.

9 Repeatability ±1 micron
.

Mechanical Specification

Table 2. Mechanical Specification of M-DVRT Displacement Sensor

Overall body length 11.3 mm for 3 mm stroke

18.7 mm for 6 mm stroke
26.8 mm for 9 mm stroke
11.3 mm for high resolution version
Outside diameter 1.5 mm (standard version) 1.8 mm (high resolution)

Housing material smooth 316 stainless steel;

Attachment method
4-40, 6-32 & 8-32 400 series stainless steel
imperial threaded body options
M3x0.5-6g, M3.5x0.6-6g, & M4x0.7-6g 400
series stainless steel metric threaded body options
threaded body

Leadouts 45 cm, multi stranded, shielded, stainless

steel reinforced, Teflon insulated
Connector keyed 4-pin Lemo, polyolefin relief

Operating temperature -55 to 175 °C

Core weight 3 mm: 0.06 g, 6 mm: 0.07 g, 9 mm: 0.07 g,1.5 mm: 0.06 g

Core material 0.020” diameter super elastic NiTi alloy, 00-90 thread optional

Cable diameter 0.036

Formula for Displacement
D=( M ∗X ) + B ------------------------------------ (1)

m.m
( m. m ) v m. m
v

M = slope (mm/v) M=1.91625(mm/v)

X = Sensor output (v) B =-4.8119 mm
B = offset(mm)
Sensor o/p : 0 – 5V
At 0V : D=( 1.91625∗0 ) + (−4.8119 )

= (−4.8119 ) mm

Range : −4.8119 mm to 4.76935 mm

Red  Supply [6 – 16V]

White  output [ 0 – 5V]

Black  GND
3.3 Thermocouple

A Thermocouple is a sensor used to measure temperature. Thermocouples consist of two wire legs
made from different metals. The wires legs are welded together at one end, creating a junction. This
junction is where the temperature is measured. When the junction experiences a change in
temperature, a voltage is created. The voltage can then be interpreted using thermocouple reference
tables to calculate the temperature.

A thermocouple is often enclosed in a protective sheath to isolate it from the local atmosphere. This
protective sheath drastically reduces the effects of corrosion.

Type K Thermocouple (Nickel-Chromium / Nickel-Alumel): The type K in figure 2 is the most

common type of thermocouple. It’s inexpensive, accurate, reliable, and has a wide temperature range.

Figure 2. Type K Thermocouple

Temperature Range:

 Thermocouple grade wire, –454 to 2,300F (–270 to 1260C)

 Extension wire, 32 to 392F (0 to 200C)

Accuracy (whichever is greater):

 Standard: +/- 2.2C or +/- .75%

 Special Limits of Error: +/- 1.1C or 0.4%
 Chapter 4
The development and implementation of the NI based WSN system

4.1 WSN system Establishment

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a wireless network consisting of spatially distributed

autonomous devices using sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions. With the wireless
sensor network (WSN), we easily can monitor our environment with reliable, battery-powered
measurement nodes .WSN is based on IEEE 802.15.4.It consists of three main components: NI
Gateway 9792, NI Nodes 3202, 3212, NI cDAQ9191-NI9234 Module and software.
NI-WSN 9792 gateway is a programmable Ethernet gateway that connects the remote NI-
WSN nodes to a computer for data acquisition and control. The NI-WSN 3202, NI-WSN 3212 nodes
are programmable wireless receivers housing several analog and digital inputs and cDAQ9191 is data
acquisition card. These nodes can be connected to Displacement sensor, Thermocouple for Humidity,
Accelerometer for vibration analysis. The acquired data from various sensors via a wireless network
transmit to NI Gateway to a system running LabVIEW Program Code.

4.1.1 Hardware and software from National Instrument

For the establishment of WSN system we are using hardware and software from National
Instrument.
Table 3. NI WSN system hardware
NI Hardware
S.No Devices Description
1. NI Gateway 9792 It is based on 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4(Zigbee)
Processor Integration :
MPC8347 real-time processor ,533 MHz
Features:
 Radio mode: IEEE 802.15.4
 RF data rate: 250 kbits/s
 Frequency band1 :.ISM 2.4 GHz (2400 MHz to 2483.5 MHz)
 Channels2:11–24
 Modulation type:DSSS (O-QPSK)
 Receiver sensitivity:–102 dBm
 DDR2 RAM : 256 MB
 Non-volatile:2 GB
 Data Rate:100MBits/s(From Gateway to Laptop)
 Receiver data rate : 250kbps(From Node to Gateway)
 Operating Temperature Range: -40 to 70 °C
 Operating system :LabVIEW Real-Time (VxWorks)
2. NI Nodes 3202 It is based on 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4(Zigbee)
Features:
 Radio mode:.IEEE 802.15.4
 RF data rate: 250 kbits/s
 Frequency band1 :.ISM 2.4 GHz (2400 MHz to 2483.5 MHz)
 Channels2:11–24
 Modulation type:DSSS (O-QPSK)
 Receiver sensitivity:–102 dBm
 RAM : 8KB
 Flash size: 248 Kbytes
 Number of channels:4 single-ended
 ADC resolution:16 bits
 Minimum sample interval:1 s
 Power Consumption
End node mode
60 second sample interval :16 mW at 24 V
 1 second sample interval :.33 mW at 24 V
Router mode2 :300 mW at 24 V
 Range:300m
3. NI Nodes 3212 It is based on 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4(Zigbee)
Features:
 Radio mode:.IEEE 802.15.4
 RF data rate: 250 kbits/s
 Frequency band1 :.ISM 2.4 GHz (2400 MHz to 2483.5 MHz)
 Channels2:11–24
 Modulation type:DSSS (O-QPSK)
 Receiver sensitivity:–102 dBm
 TX power : +17db (50 mW)
 Number of channels:4 , thermocouple input
 ADC resolution:24 bits
 Type of ADC: Delta-Sigma
 Voltage measurement range: .±73 mV
 Temperature measurement ranges
Thermocouple types J, K,
R, S, T, N, and B :.Works over temperature ranges defined by NIST
Thermocouple type E:–270 to 950 °C
 Minimum sample interval:.2 s
 Input bandwidth (–3 dB):1 Hz
 Noise rejection:65 dB minimum at 50/60 Hz
 Power Consumption

End node mode

60 second sample interval :15mW at 24 V
2 second sample interval :.25mW at 24 V
Router mode2 :300 mW at 24 V
4. cDAQ9191-NI9234 c-DAQ9191
It is based on 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4(Zigbee)
Features:
 Radio mode:.IEEE 802.11b/g(Wi-Fi)
 Security : 128bit AES data encryption & IEEE 802.11i(WPA2)
 RF data rate: 54Mbits/s
 Frequency band : 2.4GHz
 Modulation type:
IEEE 802.11 b : DSSS
IEEE 802.11 g : OFDM,DSSS
 Range:100m
NI9234
 Number of channels:.4 analog input channels
 ADC resolution:.24 bits
 Type of ADC:Delta-Sigma (with analog prefiltering)
 Sampling mode:Simultaneous
 Internal master timebase (fM)
Frequency:13.1072MHz
Accuracy : ±50 ppm max
 Data rate range (fs) using internal master timebase Minimum: 1.652 kS/s
Maximum: 51.2 kS/s
 Input Range: ±5 V

Table 4.Software used in structural health monitoring Project

S.No Software Description
1. LabVIEW Full Development system with Basic software for programming
Embedded support 2012
2. Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit Time-Frequency Analysis, Time-Series Analysis and
2012(Toolkits) Wavelets
3. LabVIEW Wireless sensor Network 2012 For accessing NI Nodes
4. NI WSN Pioneer(Module)
5. NI DAQmx9.8 For Accessing NI cDAQ9191-NI9234
For Getting Function Block DAQ Assistant
6. WSN API For NI Nodes
NI WSN system requires any one of the following supported operating system
The Wireless Sensor Network Module supports the following operating systems:
 Windows 7 (32-bit)
 Windows Vista with Service Pack 3.0 (32-bit)
 Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32-bit)
 Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit)

Note: The Wireless Sensor Network Module does not support Windows NT/Me/98/95/2000, Windows
Server non-R2 editions, or the Windows Server 2008 R2 edition.

After acquiring all the software which is shown in Table 4 and OS mentioned above start the
installation 1. Install OS and install one by one software mentioned in the Table4 as per their serial
order.

4.1.2 Topology in WSN

The NI Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system is built on an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless mesh network.
The 802.15.4 radio in each NI WSN device provides for low-power communication of measurement
data across a large network of devices.

There are two types of Topology supported in NI WSN system

1) Star Topology: In star Topology all Nodes are connected to the Gateway, at a time eight (8) nodes
can be connected to single Gateway as shown in figure3.

NI NODES
(END NODE)

Figure 3.Star Topology

2) Mesh Topology : (Medium Density, High Distance & High Density ,Medium Distance)

The gateways and nodes work together to form a mesh network. NI WSN measurement nodes can be
configured to act as end nodes or routers using the NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)
utility. Parent devices (routers and gateways) can only have a maximum of eight end nodes connected
to them at a given time in Figure4. This means that to achieve the maximum density of 36 nodes per
gateway, you must include router nodes in your topology.

 High Density, Medium Distance: In this topology at least 4Routers can be connected to a
single gateway. To each Router 8Nodes can be connected.

Figure 4.NI WSN Medium Density, High Distance

 Medium Density, High Distance: In this topology at least 8 Routers can be connected to
a single gateway. As shown in figure 5, to each Router 7Nodes can be connected.

X7
N

R3

R4

N X7
R1 R2
N X7 R1 R2

R3

R4 N X7
 Figure 5.NI WSN Medium Density, High Distance

4.1.3 Configuring Hardware in NI MAX

To implementation WSN, an experimental setup is designed in which a node NI WSN 3202, 3212, a
gateway NI WSN 9792, cDAQ9191-NI9234 are used. The gateway was connected to Laptop via
Ethernet cable and power was given via a power supply. The battery powered nodes connected to the
temperature thermocouple and Displacement sensor. The NcDAQ9191-NI9234 is connected to
accelerometer sensor as shown in figure6 Both NI c-DAQ and Gateway requires external power
always.

Figure 6. Experimental set up of WSN system using NI Devices

4.1.4 Flowchart of SHM GUI
The flow of SHM GUI is given in flowchart1.There are different functions in this SHM among them
two main functions deploy for real monitoring and Network view is shown in flowchart2 for
topology selection.
Flowchart1. Execution of GUI of SHM
Flowchart2. Execution flow of Network View
 Chapter 5

Design and development of GUI using NI LabVIEW

5.1 GUI development to monitor SHM

Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
using LabVIEW and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Nodes, Gateways etc. from National
Instruments). SHM is the process of implementing damage detection and characterization strategy for
engineering structures.

Initially, we are required to select all sensors and their particular configuration from the GUI,
we wish to deploy. We can view the data of different sensors installed in the SHM physical network
with the help of the GUI. It is to be kept in notice, that the Data from sensors that is being shown on
the GUI has already been conditioned and converted to some understandable values.

The implementation of the project has been done using helps from many programmers or
previously developed programs, and has been accordingly connected to the GUI, as per the
requirements of the GUI as shown in the form of block diagram in figure7.

Figure 7. Block diagram of flow of SHM GUI

5.2 Topology used in system

As defined above in WSN system in section 4.1.2 we have three topologies in NI system among them
we are using Medium Density, High Distance topology.
5.3 Features of GUI
This Structural Health Monitoring GUI consists of sequence of action which has to perform in
sequential manner only. The GUI is made using LabVIEW software which is used to monitor sensor
data. This GUI consist of various features –

a) NI Nodes Configuration buttons(Respective NI Nodes Pins)

b) NI Node configuration saving Button
c) Remove Node configuration
d) Finalize Node configuration
e) Network view configuration button
f) Deploy NI cDAQ9191 & Nodes
g) Quit

Fig 27. Front Panel of SHM GUI

f
g

Figure 8. Block diagram of flow of SHM GUI

 a) NI Nodes Configuration buttons

GUI is having the feature to change the configuration of any Node by activating the NI MAX button
from Configure Nodes button in GUI which lets user to Configure Node Parameters as in Figure 9
and it will open NI MAX from the VI

Figure 9.Block diagram of executing .exe from LabVIEW

. More about the executing the application in LabVIEW is given in Appendix (B) –I (2)

b) NI Node configuration saving Button

In this we will select the NI Nodes which we want to monitor by selecting the Node serial number
nodes type and its respective pin configuration in tabs .Finally save the Node configuration in the
ListBox as for NI3202 only configuration of the NI 3202 will save, same for others also. If incase
same node selected twice a message will prompt telling you that you have made the invalid selection.

c) Remove configuration

If in case we selected wrong configuration, then using remove configuration we can remove the
configuration by selecting any one line of that Node configuration.

d) Finalize Node configuration

It will count the numbers of different nodes we selected.

e) Network view configuration button

To view the type of topology available in WSN and the way we can design a network can be done by
Network view configuration Button as shown in Figure10.If user select Mesh Topology then it will
consist of Routers as in Figure11.
Figure 10.Network View of star topology

Figure 11.Network View of Mesh Topology

 f) Deploy NI cDAQ9191 & Nodes
As in the project we are using two types of devices one is wireless based and second one is Wi-Fi
based so by selecting this Deploy NI cDAQ9191 & Nodes button two VI will run simultaneously c-
DAQ and NI Nodes VI.Figure12 & 13 is showing the VI that run after clicking Deploy Button.

Figure 12.Front Panel of Real Time data monitoring of NI Nodes

 Figure 13.Front Panel of Real Time data monitoring of NI cDAQ9191

g) Quit: To stop the VI press quit button.

5.4 Results
The GUI consist of sequential execution of program in which first step is to configure node, MAX
application will open by clicking this button as in Figure 8. More will be in APPENDIX B - I
a) Open the NI MAX and configure the Node.

Fig 33.NI MAX for addition, removal and modification of Node configuration

b) Save the configuration of Nodes by selecting serial number with respective inputs.

Configuration of Node saved in

ListBox by selecting Save
Configuration

More about the logics and function see in APPENDIX(B)-II

c) Remove Configuration

It will prompt the user to confirm the action.

More about the logics and function is in APPENDIX (C)

d) Finalize Configuration
By clicking on this button message prompt the user to confirm the action. Details to finalize the node
configuration is given in APPENDIX (C) 3

Count the number of

Nodes selected

A,b,c,d will be necessary steps to do and the output of the action done in these steps will reflected in
Network view configuration button and Deploy NI cDAQ9191 & Nodes .
e) Network view configuration button

If user selects High Density, Medium Distance Topology then the respective configuration will come
in Routers and End Nodes as in Figure14. When we click on OK button then it will view the way
network will be designed after connection. More will be in APPENDIX (D)

Figure 14. Network view showing network connected by blinking green.

f) Deploy NI cDAQ9191 & Nodes

 When deploy the network from this button two VI will open one is NI Nodes VI and other is NI c-
DAQ.In Figure 15 as shown the radio button at the left side of the graph by selecting them we can
make sensor output visible on Graph. But first we have to select the serial number from ListBox.
More about the logics and function see Appendix A (e)

Graph showing the result of

the displacement sensor

Figure 15. Graph showing the Displacement sensor data

Both the data from NI Node and NI c-DAQ will appear in the two VI which runs simultaneously
when clicking Deploy button in MAIN GUI .The c-DAQ data is shown in Figure16.

FFT on CDAQ

Figure 16.cDAQ9191-NI9234 showing Time & Frequency graph

References
1) Tomonori Nagayama And Billie F. Spencer, Jr., “Structural Health Monitoring Using Smart
Sensors”, NSEL Report Series Report No. NSEL-001 Nov. 2007.

2) D. Inaudia,b,.R. Waldera,“Integrated Structural Health Monitoring Systems for

Buildings”,2008
3) National Instrument , “LabVIEW Signal Processing Course Manual”, September 1997
4) Ritter, D.J. LabVIEW GUI Essential Techniques. McGraw Hill, 2002.
5) Mullet, K. & Sano, D. Designing Visual Interfaces – Communication Oriented Techniques.
Prentice Hall, 1995.
6) https://www.youtube.com/user/Labview