A methodology to design measurement systems when multiple model classes are plausible

The management of existing civil infrastructure is challenging due to evolving functional requirements, aging and climate change. Civil infrastructure often has hidden reserve capacity because of conservative approaches used in design and during construction. Information collected through sensor measurements has the potential to improve knowledge of structural behavior, leading to better decisions related to asset management. In this situation, the design of the monitoring system is an important task since it directly affects the quality of the information that is collected. Design of optimal measurement systems depends on the choice of behavior-model parameters to identify using monitoring data and non-parametric uncertainty sources. A model that contains a representation of these parameters as variables is called a model class. Selection of the most appropriate model class is often difficult prior to acquisition of information regarding the structural behavior, and this leads to suboptimal sensor placement. This study presents strategies to efficiently design measurement systems when multiple model classes are plausible. This methodology supports the selection of a sensor configuration that provides significant information gain for each model class using a minimum number of sensors. A full-scale bridge, The Powder Mill Bridge (USA), and an illustrative beam example are used to compare methodologies. A modification of the hierarchical algorithm for sensor placement has led to design of configurations that have fewer sensors than previously proposed strategies without compromising information gain.