Institute for Transportation

Recently efforts have been put toward the development of civil structures that have embedded sensors and on-board data processing capabilities, typically termed “smart structures.” The fusion of these smart technologies into infrastructures is intended to give bridge owners/managers better and more timely information on how structures are behaving and when they need maintenance. Until the present, most of these efforts have focused on ways to integrate conventional sensors and development of data processing algorithms. Almost simultaneously, fundamental research has occurred on what is generally termed nanotechnology. Nanotechnology can take on many forms but can generally be thought of as very, very small sensors, machines, or devices that are infused within a larger element and/or system. Because most of this research has been of a fundamental nature, a complete document relating nanotechnology to timber structures has never existed. As such, a good understanding of how nanotechnology might complement other smart structure advancements does not exist.