An overview of applications of renewable energy methods in the development of structural health monitoring systems

Structural health monitoring is an efficient method for monitoring and scheduling maintenance of civil engineering infrastructure when exposedto various types of loadings. Advances in innovative technologies such as lowpower wireless sensor networks have further improved the efficiency andversatility of SHM systems. Moreover, harvesting energy from ambient andrenewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, structural thermal gradient and vibration, have addressed the issue of the limited life span of batteries powering these sensors. Over the years, the scope of different harvesting mechanisms has been extended from a sensors’ power source to sensing structural anomalies. This paper reviews the scope of different energy harvesting technologies in improving the robustness and efficiency of a structural health monitoringsystem.