Addressing Network Challenges for Wireless Control of Civil Infrastructure
Lauren Linderman
Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, University of Minnesota
ABSTRACT: Structural control offers an approach to protect structures from natural hazards by adding devices that can introduce damping or alter the stiffness of the structure. Effective implementation of sensor and actuators networks (SANs) for civil applications has significant challenges, such as modeling and loading uncertainty, large-scale systems, and reliability. Additionally, as the field moves towards wireless SANs, deployment challenges must be considered, such as communication latency and unreliable communication, which make common centralized control strategies less feasible for wireless networks. Linderman addresses the challenges of communication delays and error through decentralized control, sensor selection, and controller implementation. Linderman’s proposed feedback and sensor selection approach does not require knowing the feedback structure or desired number of sensors a priori, which allows the optimal configuration to be considered in the design.
