ABSTRACT
Signal processors deal with operations on, or analyses of, analogue as well as digital signals, which represent time-varying or spatially varying physical quantities of a smart civil structure, from the sensors and sensory systems (SS) installed in the structure. Signal processors are also responsible for the realisation of control algorithms for structural vibration control. The configuration of a signal processing system depends on the functions expected from a smart civil structure. This chapter first introduces the configurations of a structural health monitoring system, a structural vibration control system and an integrated system for both structural health monitoring and vibration control. The major components involved in the three systems are then presented. The common components for the three systems include SS, data acquisition and transmission systems (DATS), data management systems (DMS) and structural evaluation systems (SES). The specific component is the data processing system (DPS) for the structural health monitoring system, the controller system (CS) for the structural control system, and the combined data processing and controller system (DPCS) for the integrated system for both structural health monitoring and vibration control. Wireless sensors and systems, such as integrated sensing, transmission and processing systems, are described in detail in this chapter. Finally, power supply and energy harvesting as elements of a smart civil structure are commented upon briefly. The high-fidelity design of any one of the foregoing systems requires an integrated analytical/numerical and experimental approach, and therefore this chapter shall be read together with the subsequent chapters in Part II of this book.
