ABSTRACT
Smart civil structures are defined as civil structures that can mimic biological systems with smart self-sensing, self-adaptive, self-diagnostic, self-repair and self-powered functions, so as to perform any targeted functions under various environments and to preserve the safety and integrity of the structures during strong winds, severe earthquakes and other extreme events. A smart civil structure has the ability to sense, measure, process and diagnose, at critical locations, any change in selected variables, and to command appropriate action using its own power. A smart civil structure has a few key elements: smart materials, sensors, actuators, signal processors, communication networks, power sources, diagonal strategies, control strategies, repair strategies and life-cycle management (LCM) strategies. These key elements can be further integrated into four systems: the structural health monitoring (SHM) system, the structural vibration control (SVC) system, the structural self-repairing (SSR) system and the structural energy harvesting (SEH) system with optimised sensor and actuator placements and various optimised strategies. These four systems, together with an updated multi-scale finite element model (FEM) of civil structures, can then execute their tasks collectively and intelligently.
