SBIR-STTR Award

The research examines the design of peak strain and deflectionbased instrumentation systems for the post-earthquake health monitoring of buildings and other structures. The instrumentation systems are intended to evaluate the local material damage at specific points within a structure, and used to estimate, among other things, the level of damage a structure has suffered and its condition. The work entails designing several types of sensors; performing full static and dynamic tests; investigating approaches to designing a site-specific system; and interpretation of the sensor output. The research evaluates the general distribution of high strains (or damage) incurred during an earthquake event to optimize the location of the sensors and the accuracy with which the system predicts the damage. The new technology can provide for an economical and reliable means for structural safety assessment.The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: The work provides the research necessary to make reliable and economical instrumentation systems possible. These would include damage alarms for occupied structures, devices to block entrances to damaged tunnels or bridges, and automatic periodic inspection systems.

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will design and install several prototype, earthquake damage instrumentation systems (based on a new technology for non-destructive evaluation) into private and commercial structures. Strain Monitor Systems, Inc. (SMS) is developing a unique, patented technology for the safety and damage assessment of materials. In Phase I, prototype sensors were constructed and tested in the laboratory for their effectiveness at discerning seismically-induced peak strains and deflections. The results have shown that the technology will provide a simple, inexpensive approach for safety monitoring. Phase II will expand the research to include the complete installation and operation of systems in several different types of structures. Systems will be designed and installed into | 1) several private residences, 2) the Marin County, California, Civic Center, Hall of ! Justice building, and 3) the Los Angeles I-10 to I-405 Interchange bridge. The system will be able to monitor the sensors on-demand, either automatically or manually, and they will be used as evaluation platforms from which to demonstrate the technology. The technology provides a simple, reliable, and inexpensive means of assessing earthquake damage. The ability to quickly and quantitatively discern the level of damage (and the potential for failure during an aftershock) within a structure has good commercial potential. Such information will reduce repair costs to a damaged structure as well as provide a means for the quick and accurate determination of a structure's safety