Development of a BIM-Enabled Digital Twin for IoT-Based Structural Health Monitoring and Analysis

Abstract

This report presents a unique approach to structural health monitoring and monitoring of environmental parameters in real-time. The study aims to develop an alternative to visual inspection of structures located in remote areas by creating a real-time digital twin of the bridge model that collects sensor data and transfers it to the BIM Model to monitor damage. Temperature and humidity sensors monitor the changes in the environment whereas, data from ultrasonic sensors is used for crack detection and monitoring of deformation in structure. The study first explores the data acquisition process where DHT11, Ds18b20, and HC-SR04 sensors are attached to the bridge beam at L/3 distance. The sensors are connected to Esp 32 with its battery provided by a power bank. The collected data is transferred to Google Sheets through Wi-Fi and used to update the Excel sheet. Dynamo receives data from Excel and displays it on the BIM Model in Revit. Thresholds for environmental monitoring are set according to the temperature and humidity values that affect concrete. Revit Model displays these values in the form of color coding that indicates whether the actual values have exceeded or are below the parameters set for optimum concrete strength. The values from ultrasonic sensors are used for crack detection and determining the height of the beam above the structure to monitor the deformation of the bridge beam. The thresholds for damage detection are set according to the simulations run on Ansys. The BIM Model indicates the exact location of the crack and whether the structure has crossed the critical limit for deformation. Validation of the research study was conducted on the bridge model constructed in SCEE. An FEM model of the structure was also created on Ansys to determine the critical failure of the beam when different values of load are applied. A webpage was also made that displays the sensor values as well as the BIM Model in an easy-to-use dashboard system.