An innovative embedded wireless sensor network system for the structural health monitoring of RC structures

Maintenance strategies based on structural health monitoring are able to provide effective support when it comes to optimizing the scheduled repair of existing structures, enabling their lifetime to be extended. With a particular focus on reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the state of the art seems to still be lacking an efficient and cost-effective technique that is capable of monitoring inner stresses continuously over the lifetime of a structure. Current solutions can typically only measure the required mechanical variables in an indirect, but economic, manner, or directly, but expensively. Moreover, most of the solutions proposed can be implemented only by means of manual activation, making the monitoring very inefficient and then poorly supported. This study deals with a structural health monitoring solution based on a wireless sensor network (WSN) that enables the automatic monitoring of a reinforced concrete (RC) structure. The network is comprised of wireless distributed sensors embedded in the structure itself which can be suitable for a digital monitoring of innovative constructions, such as 3D printed structures, thus enabling the creation of smart structures according to the requirements of Industry 4.0.