Semi-active damping system for stayed cables used in the construction of bridges. The aim is to reduce bridge oscillations to a minimum.

In a study prepared by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is a proposal for investing $30bn in the digital infrastructure of the USA, which it maintains could create one million jobs within a year.

Sections of this economic booster package cover, intelligent power networks and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). The latter is the technique for collecting and analysing information on the functional integrity of buildings and civil engineering structures, aimed at identifying damage such as cracks or excessive deformation, so that countermeasures can be instituted before a catastrophic structural failure occurs.

Using a video system to measure the deformation of a bowstring bridge deck made of laminated timber and tensioned by carbon fiber reinforced polymer tensioning bands developed by Empa and spanned across its lower surface

World specialists gathering in Zurich will discuss progress in the field of building monitoring. The fourth SHMII Conference is being organised by Empa for the first time this year, and f they will have the opportunity to sit in on over 150 expert lectures with speakers from 28 countries.

Also on offer at SHMII-4 are, among other topics, the latest information and know how on such subjects as “intelligent” sensors and wireless sensor networks, the recognition and localisation of damage, monitoring historic buildings subject to preservation orders, the newest computer models for generating reliability predictions as well as renovation and reinforcement techniques for civil engineering structures.

The leader of the organisation committee, Empa researcher Urs Meier (right) is very pleased with the response from the specialists, which has been, in his words, “fabulous!” The conference,  being held in English, is taking place in the auditoria in the north sector of the ETH Main Building in Zurich