InfraHealth

Starting point / motivation

Critical infrastructure objects have to be continuously monitored to record the current condition and to identify the need of repair. These measures prevent damage, which increases the service life and reduces the costs of renovation work.

The monitoring of structures is traditionally carried out using engineering geodetic methods. The increasing demands on the load-bearing capacity and durability of infrastructure represent an ever-increasing logistical and economic challenge.

Contents and goals

As part of the InfraHealth project, GNSS-based methods are examined and developed in order to simplify the monitoring of critical building infrastructures and to offer more cost-effectively monitoring solutions.

Methods

For this purpose, GNSS receivers with the ability of recording high-frequent data will be used to record high-frequent motion of infrastructure. Based on the reaction of the objects to static (temperature changes, water level changes) and dynamic influencing variables such as earthquakes, load changes (e.g. switching process in pump storage systems), traffic or wind influence, a fingerprint of the object is generated.

Changes to the fingerprint allow conclusions to be drawn about the state of health the object. As part of the project, dedicated laboratory tests are carried out under controlled stimualtions and in-situ tests on real objects. Based on the recorded data, automatic evaluation algorithms are developed.

Expected results

The generated fingerprints are visualized in a web-based demonstrator and combined with additional data (e.g. weather data, earthquake data) for interpretation.

In addition, the monitoring data will be made available as a web-based service to the users from the public and private sector for integration into existing systems. In addition, the findings from the project also contribute to the goals defined in the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 - 2030" of the United Nations, in which, among other things, the resilience of critical infrastructure to natural hazards is increased.

Coordinator

Graz University of Technology - Institute for Engineering Geodesy and Measuring Systems

Project partner

• DCNA: Disaster Competence Network Austria
• Leica Geosystems Austria GmbH
• pentamap GmbH
• VERBUND Hydro Power AG

Graz University of Technology - Institute for Engineering Geodesy and Measuring Systems
Univ. Prof. Dr. Werner Lienhart
Steyrergasse 30
A-8010 Graz