A Course in Instrumentation & Monitoring of Civil Infrastructure

Abstract

Use of field instrumentation to monitor the on-site behavior of structures is increasingly becoming a part of many construction projects. Nevertheless, few American universities, if any, offer a course on instrumentation as part of their Civil Engineering curriculum. To address this concern, a graduate course titled “Instrumentation, Monitoring and Condition Assessment of Civil Infrastructure” (CE 607) was developed and offered at Polytechnic University for the first time in the spring of 2006. Thirteen modules of the course were developed. The intent of this course is to familiarize graduate students with the principles of instrumentation and monitoring, including planning, sensor selection, data acquisition, information management and error analysis in civil engineering projects. By the end of the course, the engineers are expected to have the ability to develop and conduct an instrumentation program.