Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges: From Research to Practice

Mission Statement/Objectives

Scope & Limitation

The TG shall primarily look into the promising methodologies to transit SHM from research to practice, with real-world applications from around the world. Special attention will be given to success stories related to field SHM.

In particular, the TG scope is:

• Knowledge integration: Consolidate state-of-the-art and emerging SHM technologies (sensors, data-driven methods, digital twins, AI).
• Practice-oriented applications: Focus on bridges and large-scale civil infrastructure, addressing lifecycle management, resilience, and climate adaptation.
• Methodological frameworks: Promote standardized approaches for data acquisition, feature extraction, statistical/AI modeling, and decision support.
• Policy and practice: Contribute to IABSE’s role in transferring SHM from research to practical implementation in engineering codes, guidelines, and asset management systems.
• Capacity building: Support training, workshops, and dissemination activities for engineers and students globally.

Limitations.

The group will not develop commercial SHM products or endorse proprietary solutions. Pilot implementations and field projects are beyond its direct scope (though case studies may be documented). The focus is on civil infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, buildings, dams, wind turbine towers), not aerospace or mechanical SHM. The group will operate within the volunteer capacity of its members, emphasizing knowledge exchange rather than consultancy.

Expected Project Output

The Task Group proposes to deliver the following results:

• Organization of short courses and webinars on SHM at IABSE events for researchers and practitioners, emphasising correct interpretation of data and practical installation guidance.
• An IABSE Structural Engineering Document (SED) providing best practice guidelines for SHM of bridges, with recommendations for integrating SHM into design, construction, and asset management workflows but also recommendations on instrumentation purpose, application, installation, data management, and case study compendium.
• Coordinate the writing of two technical articles for the Structural Engineering International (SEI) journal and magazine.

Start Date: March 1, 2026
Target Date of Completion: February 28, 2030

Chair

Eloi Figueiredo, Portugal

Vice Chair
Sachin Ravjee, South Africa

Members

Ionut Moldovan, Portugal

Enrique García Macías, Spain

Filippo Ubertini, Italy

Jonatas Valença, Portugal

José Campos e Matos, Portugal

Luca Pelà, Spain

Luís Oliveira Santos, Portugal

Luke Prendergast, UK

Marek Salamak, Poland

Maria Limongelli, Italy

Michael H. Faber, Portugal

Pier Francesco Giordano, Italy

Roland Kromanis, Netherlands

Semih Gonen, Spain

Xinxin Zhang, China

Ye Xia, China

Vikram Pakrashi, Ireland

Marllon Aguero, USA

Elsabe Kearsley, South Africa

Johan Kotzé, South Africa

Phillip Bettencourt, South Africa

Eduan Heinrich Grobler, South Africa

Amé Kleynhans, South Africa

Richart Ross, South Africa

Sarah Skorpen, South Africa

Bence Hajós, Hungary

Phillipo Correa Marchant, Chile

Sisi Zhang, Germany

Jurie Adenkorff, South Africa

Joan Casas, Spain

Grzegorz Poprawa, Poland

Subhrajit Dutta, India

Gledson Rodrigo Tondo, Germany

Sinem Tola, Portugal

Adriana Trias, USA

Marko Bartolac, Croatia

Ivan Duvnjak, Croatia

Rok Mesar, Slovenia

Daniel Colmenares, Sweden