AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES FOR VIBRATION-BASED STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS SUBJECTED TO BASE EXCITATION

Coastal regions, particularly in the southeastern United States, are consistently confronted with the ongoing threat of hurricane-induced damage to their buildings. Consequently, there is a pressing need to concentrate efforts on the evaluation and prediction of structural integrity and reliability in such environments. This is paramount for minimizing losses and enhancing public safety in the face of these challenging climatic conditions. Current structural health monitoring systems are typically customized for specific buildings, rendering them excessively expensive and impractical for residential structures. This research presents a comprehensive study of signal processing techniques and damage detection for an economical yet efficient structural health monitoring system designed to anticipate potential failures and assess the safety and reliability of residential buildings. The proposed system employs integrated piezoelectric sensors to monitor alterations in the structural and material characteristics of building components. The collected sensors’ data may be transmitted to a mobile application using a WiFi or Bluetooth system. To validate the functionality of the SHM system, a proof-of-concept prototype building was constructed utilizing additive manufacturing, featuring integrated piezoelectric sensors. The system underwent experimental testing under base excitation at various frequencies, revealing distinct output variations at different locations. This substantiates the feasibility of employing integrated piezoelectric sensors within structural buildings for effective structural health monitoring. The collected data will serve as a foundational resource for accurately estimating the building’s reliability in anticipation of future hurricane events.