Structural Health Monitoring of Large Structures via mmWave Sensing

Abstract Vibration and deformation measurement are of great significance for structural health monitoring (SHM). While the existing accelerometer, laser and vision-based approaches have limitations in multi-point vibration measurement, efficiency and environmental adaptability, especially for large structures. In this paper, we present a method for structural health monitoring with multi-point vibration and deformation measurement via millimetre- wave sensing. First, we describe the mathematical model and the principle of multi-target synchronous vibration and deformation monitoring. Second, with a built prototype of mmWave sensing system, we evaluate our method with both laboratory and field tests. The experimental results of different amplitudes, frequencies and velocities show that our approach can accurately monitor the vibration and deformation of multi-point with μm-level accuracy. The field test of Shanghai Songpu Bridge is provided to further validate the effectiveness of the method, offering a novel approach for contactless vibration and deformation monitoring of large structures in SHM.