RESEARCH

Structural Monitoring and Control

Technologies and methodologies for monitoring structures and infrastructure are important in several applications, such as physics-based or computational intelligence-aided identification and model updating, damage detection, and reliability assessment. In this perspective, the current research is concerned with the dynamic characterization of architectural heritage, buildings, bridges, critical structural details and vibrations mitigation devices. As regards the devices for vibrations control, analysis and optimum design problems are also addressed (mostly for seismic applications). Moreover, special attention is paid on emerging needs for structural monitoring and control applications, which call for miniaturized wireless nodes where the electrical energy is not required or it can be stored without batteries replacement. Therefore, the studies in this field also deal with energy harvesting from ambient vibrations and acoustic wave devices (surface acoustic wave sensors). The researches are performed through numerical approaches (including computational intelligence and machine learning techniques) as well as analytical methods, and they are supported by laboratory or in-situ tests. Overall, research interests within the framework of structural monitoring and control are the following:   

• • sensing systems for structural monitoring;

  • dynamic identification;

  • diagnostic of civil structures and infrastructures;

  • passive devices for vibrations control of structures.

Structural Concrete

The research in the field of structural concrete is mainly concerned with the analysis and design of reinforced, pre-stressed or post-tensioned concrete members as well as with concrete-filled steel tubes and composite truss-reinforced steel-concrete beams. Static and dynamic loading conditions are considered. Moreveover, enviromental effects are taken into account, with focus on deterioration phenomena attributable to corrosion. The numerical analysis of concrete structures is performed by means of finite element, fiber element or meshfree methods. Multiphysics simulations are also carried out. Furthermore, analytical approaches and data-driven methodologies (including computational intelligence and machine learning techniques) are adopted. Overall, research interests within the framework of structural concrete are the following: 

• • reinforced concrete structures;

  • concrete-filled steel tubes;

  • truss-reinforced composite steel-concrete beams.