Innovative Structural
Health Monitoring
Solution
Every building structure or infrastructural construction is unique and requires specific and ad-hoc designed monitoring solutions, because the amount and nature of impending risks is specific and unique too.
Civil constructions are prototypes that, as in mechanical engineering, require constant monitoring to prevent any problems, so the Structural Health Monitoring, if correctly designed, means knowledge and knowledge improves safety.
Every structure is subject to multiple risk scenarios in its life that should not, in any way, be the cause of excessive deformation, excessive mechanical stress or collapse; therefore multifunction sensors can respond better to the knowledge needing.
Flex Patch Is A Multifunction Sensing System Easy To Apply, Wireless And Low Cost
Four main physical quantities: deformation and strain, temperature, tilt and rotation, shift and seismic peak accelerations are measured as a standard functionality of the system; further sensors can be easily integrated if needed.
The Flex Patch strain sensors have medium-large length that supplies an average strain measure on 100 or 150 mm span. They have a domain of application comparable to the magneto-inductive long gauge deformometers or interferometric optical fiber sensors.
For use in large structures medium-long gauge sensors offer a better stability and more easy interpretation in many applications with respect to the nearly pointwise resistive strain-meters. More-over the direct measure of the local temperature helps to have a simple and reliable temperature compensation on the values of deformation and strain.
Flex Patch Is A Multifunction Sensing System Easy To Apply, Wireless And Low Cost
Four main physical quantities: deformation and strain, temperature, tilt and rotation, shift and seismic peak accelerations are measured as a standard functionality of the system; further sensors can be easily integrated if needed.
The Flex Patch strain sensors have medium-large length that supplies an average strain measure on 100 or 150 mm span. They have a domain of application comparable to the magneto-inductive long gauge deformometers or interferometric optical fiber sensors.
For use in large structures medium-long gauge sensors offer a better stability and more easy interpretation in many applications with respect to the nearly pointwise resistive strain-meters. More-over the direct measure of the local temperature helps to have a simple and reliable temperature compensation on the values of deformation and strain.
The Flex Patch System
A low cost, easy to install, easy to manage Structural Health Monitoring WIRELESS system, durable and maintenance free, applicable to any surface and able to radio transmission of the measured values to a central server. The FLEX PATCH system is composed by the following elements:
Flex Patch Strain Sensor
The Flex Patch is a strain sensor made of highly stable resistive core sensing device included a protective shell of thin fiber reinforced plastic which does also include a tilt sensor, a seismic accelerometer, an accurate thermometer and a transmission unit, all assembled on an electronic “chip”. The protective shell is perfectly waterproof, electrically isolated and flexible, so that it can be glued on straight or bent surfaces of any material.
Gateway
A Gateway which collects the data of the single sensors and forwards them to a central server via a mobile phone network (or satellite for remote installations). The gateway coordinates the network formed by the Flex Patch (star or MESH network). The gateway is open to third party sensor integration.
Extrenal Battery Unit
The external Battery Unit is applied on the surface of each Flex Patch Sensor to supply the energy needed for measurements and data transmission. The Unit is perfectly resistant to external agents and easily exchangeable when battery is next to exhaustion (estimated life time is over two years).
InCloud Services
The data collected is conveyed and stored on a central server on Cloud, which allows both the overall processing of the data and the visualization of the data through graphical user interface (GUI), accessible via web.
Big Data
Internet Of Things
Main Values
The Flex Patch System features a completely new approach to Structural Health Monitoring: a standard, low cost and stand-alone solution able to adapt to custom projects. Four main values, strain, temperature, tilt and seismic activity are measured as a standard by the turn key version and further sensors are easily integrable where needed.
A new approach to structural health monitoring
Application Fields
Innovation in your life
Flex Patch System can be glued to almost any surface thanks to the methacrylate polyurethane adhesive especially formulated for each substrate. The Flex Patch System can be implemented in any life stage of the infrastructure, and in any spot that needs control even if early signs of failure already occurred.
Civil Construction
The Flex Patch System helps to detect damage before it reaches a critical state and allows rapid post-event assessment, e.g. after an earthquake.
Composite
Flex Patch System is perfect for application on composite materials due to material affinity.
Road/Rail Infrastructure
Structural health control of road/rail infrastructure is very expensive to date. With the Flex Patch System the health state of an infrastructure can be remotely assessed, minimizing time-intensive visual inspection.