Product category:
Technical Equipment
News Release from: Osmos | Subject: Structural health monitoring
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 07 December 2004
Fiber optics system keeps Eiffel Tower
safe
For the last ten years the Osmos system has been used to continuously monitor the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The French company OSMOS has excelled in the test and measurement industry for over fifteen years and is now the leading solution provider of permanent, high quality, affordable, and user-friendly monitoring solutions in the structural health monitoring (SHM) market For the last ten years the Osmos system has been used to continuously monitor the Eiffel Tower in Paris
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 17 Aug 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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OSMOS system keeps watchful eye on structures
Osmos system is based on fibre-optic technology and provides permanent monitoring for the target structure.
All over the world, it allows users to monitor a building, bridge or other structure throughout its life cycle and not just during inspections or crisis periods.
The system is universal because it can monitor with any type of sensor available on the market, in addition to Osmos fiber optic sensors.
The company customizes the system for each structure and thus creates value for its customers.
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It also has developed a Client Interview Report that helps OSMOS interact proactively with potential clients and understand their requirements and objectives with regards to the installation of a SHM solution on their structures.
The system consists of a monitoring station that captures, transmits and records the data received, without any amplification or transformation, from sensors installed in or on the structure to be inspected.
Measured values can be displayed on X-Y graphs, polar graphs, bar charts or as dashboards (threshold values with alarm levels).
All data can be saved, evaluated and displayed in real time, and information can be communicated to users by phone, fax, e-mail, the Internet, SMS (cell phone Short Message Service) or SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol).
Data can also be exported for further processing and managed directly via an Internet browser.
In the Eiffel Tower's case, twelve 32.8 ft.
fiber-optic strands were permanently installed on each of the main rafters above the tower's second floor in 1993, followed by 63 additional optical strands installed on the four pillars and large collar beams on the ground level and first floor in 2000.
They are anchored into place in the center of rivets and protected by copper tubes.
The system monitors the structure's daily, seasonal and annual deformation cycles, the tower's natural frequency of 0.3 Hz, rigidities under wind stress, the effects of fatigue and the risk of frost formation among other static and dynamic behavioral constants.
In addition to the Eiffel Tower, the Osmos system has been used to monitor the Manhattan Bridge, Federal Hall and the American Express Building in New York City, the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK, and the Nagoya power plant in Japan.
Currently, the company monitors 475 sites on a permanent basis.
Its sensors have a 20-year warranty.
Frost and Sullivan, a global leader in growth consulting, has recently presented the OSMOS Group with the 2004 Customer Value Enhancement Award.
This annual award is presented to the company that has demonstrated exceptional abilities in maintaining and expanding its customer base within its industry.
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