Structural Health Monitoring: some guidelines for a proper use

Structural health monitoring systems provide efficient management tools for the preventive maintenance of bridges and of large civil engineering structures. The design, the implementation and the exploitation of these systems require, for each case, a specific analysis where technical, practical and economical considerations have to be associated. While providing accurate and real- time information on structures behaviour and solicitations, structural health monitoring data are also used to confirm design hypothesis, to evaluate ageing models and, for old structures, to evaluate lifetime extend possibilities. The comparative presentation of three different application cases – the Millau Viaduct, the new Radès La Goulette Bridge and the old Jeanne d’Arc one – provides some guidelines for a proper use of structural health monitoring within the frame of a global maintenance doctrine.