Proven System for Structural Monitoring: OSMOS USA Announces Exclusive Technology
A completely integrated Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system has just been licensed for use in all areas of the United States, announced Dr. Richard Ellison, CEO of OSMOS USA.
Irvine, CA (PRWEB) March 3, 2008
A completely integrated Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system has just been licensed for use in all areas of the United States, announced Dr. Richard Ellison, CEO of OSMOS USA.
The world's most advanced monitoring system provides real-time display of the structural health of any type of structure -- including bridges, tunnels, railroads and buildings -- and has been successfully implemented in over 700 installations worldwide, including 23 in the New York City area.
The OSMOS system is extremely reliable, having been proven in over 14 years of continuous operation in hundreds of structures worldwide, including the Eiffel tower in Paris. It is the only complete "off-the-shelf" system which is capable of monitoring the complete structure and providing objective data feeds in real-time.
Dr. Ellison and his team have been studying the initial findings of the Minneapolis I-35 Bridge collapse with great interest.
"We note that the initial findings have resulted in determinations that all similar bridges should be 're-evaluated' to see if similar conditions might exist elsewhere -- using visual inspections and possibly engineering analysis. This is a reasonable response, but we suggest that appropriate monitoring ultimately is the most useful tool for understanding how the bridges will behave under both normal and special (e. g., rehabilitation) activities."
According to Dr. Ellison, the main difference between "effective monitoring" and "visual" inspections are:
Proper Monitoring provides QUANTITATIVE information for:
Showing that conditions are safe and the structure has a longer useful life -- or pinpointing areas of concern. Making the best management decisions for where and when to spend maintenance and rehabilitation dollars. Calibrating any engineering analyses performed to evaluate a structures performance.
Visual inspections can only provide SUBJECTIVE data that cannot be used for definitive decision-making.
As can be seen at www. osmosusa. com, the OSMOS system is different and much more useful than conventional Civil Engineering monitoring devices, in the following ways:
The main monitor is a fiber optic strand that extends over distances of 1 to 10 meters. When properly located this device provides a "signature" of the total structure as opposed to very localized data from conventional strain gages, etc. (installation usually is accomplished in less than a week). The system is not affected by environmental, electrical or magnetic conditions, and has been used on structures such as the Eiffel Tower for over 15 years. The Optical strand allows for both static and dynamic behavior monitoring -- thus the "signature" is for instantaneous loading or stiffness changes and provides both deformation and the structure's natural frequency behavior. The data logging/interpretation/communication system (4th generation since 1993) is custom designed, ready to provide useful data immediately after installation. The appropriate data is instantly (in real-time) sent to the owner, his/her staff, the design engineer and/or OSMOS USA for interpretation and action as appropriate. The system automatically provides instantaneous warnings at "caution" and "immediate response' levels.
"We are asked frequently 'what is the competitive system to OSMOS?' Honestly, there is no other system in the world at this time that can provide the critical data that the OSMOS system provides. Our focus on monitoring the whole structure instead of individual components lies at the heart of our success," Ellison stated.
The newly-announced company is the exclusive licensee of the OSMOS technology, and has senior-level representatives in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Gulf Coast and the West Coast. Because of the urgent need by infrastructure managers to rapidly respond to critical needs, Dr. Ellison offers "We will provide structural and transportation experts to immediately assist Infrastructure Asset Owners in any way to improve public safety or to optimize expenditures of limited public funds."
Dr. Ellison can be contacted at any time:
Office 949-589-5718
Cell 949-697-9775
Rellison@osmosusa. com
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