Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed a computational model that uses data from smart algorithms and sensors to analyze ambient vibrations from surrounding environmental factors, and then uses this data to monitor mechanical stress or internal building damage.
The new model was already tested on the tallest building in Cambridge, MIT’s Green Building, a concrete, 21-story tower that was designed by I.M. Pei in the 1960s. With their smart algorithms, sensors, and a comprehensive computer simulation, the researchers were able to model the building’s underlying physics and therefore predict how it is likely to act under different situations and stresses.
By using detailed parameters such as the density and strength of concrete walls, beams, stairs, etc, the new model can successfully monitor stress and predict how any building would react under stress.
The team hopes that, in the future, a model like this will be used on all of their buildings – outfitted with central processing algorithms and sensors, these buildings can then truly become intelligent, as they will be able to feel their own “health”.
Source:
Digital Trends (http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/smart-buildings-sense-damage/)
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