Sensing solutions for assessing and monitoring super-tall towers

The Canton Tower (CT) is a super-tall structure with a total height of 610 m. To ensure the safety and serviceability of this landmark structure during construction and operation, a sophisticated long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) system consisting of more than 700 sensors of 16 types has been designed and implemented for real-time monitoring of the structure at both in-construction and in-service stages. It provides a unique engineering paradigm for monitoring and assessing mega-structures using sensory technology, and a test-bed for an SHM benchmark study of super-tall structures with use of real-world monitoring data. This chapter describes the design, implementation, operation, and management of this life-cycle SHM system, and the integration of the SHM system with the vibration control system and the renewable energy technology deployed on the CT. The monitoring data from the CT during more than ten typhoons and earthquakes (including the recent devastating Great East Japan Earthquake) are presented, and an SHM benchmark problem with the instrumented CT being a host structure is outlined.