Structural health monitoring for LNG facilities refers to the continuous, automated measurement of physical parameters — including strain, temperature, displacement, settlement, inclination, and wall movement — throughout the lifecycle of LNG storage tanks, pipelines, and supporting infrastructure. A comprehensive structural health monitoring program provides real-time data on asset condition, early warning of developing anomalies, quality assurance during construction and hydro-testing, and defensible post-event safety assessments following earthquakes, fires, or other major incidents.
A comprehensive LNG tank monitoring program should track differential movement between inner and outer walls (TMMS), vertical settlement of the concrete slab using inclinometers, inclination of the outer wall using tiltmeters, axial and transverse outer wall movement using pendulum systems, strain and temperature distribution within the concrete slab and walls, and temperature mapping throughout the annular space and tank interior using Distributed Temperature Sensing.
LNG tank settlement — the gradual sinking of the concrete slab and foundation under the weight of stored LNG — is monitored using inclinometer probes inserted into horizontal inclinometer casings pre-installed in the concrete slab during construction. These probes measure the deflection profile of the slab, allowing engineers to detect uneven settlement that could stress the structure. Automated inclinometer systems provide continuous settlement data without requiring manual probe insertion.
Now I have a thorough understanding of the document. Here are the rewritten FAQ answers, grounded in the concrete slab and wall monitoring content:
? LNG concrete structures in seismically active regions benefit from Roctest’s integrated four-layer SHM system, which provides immediate post-event safety assessment. Real-time data from embedded vibrating wire, tiltmeters on the outer wall, foundation settlement inclinometers, and pendulum lateral displacement systems — all correlated to the seismic event — allows operators to quickly determine whether the concrete slab has settled unevenly, the outer wall has shifted or tilted, or internal stress levels in the concrete have exceeded safe thresholds.
Yes. Roctest’s concrete SHM instrumentation is designed to feed into a single unified data environment alongside the TMMS, DTS, and operational data already present in the control room. The goal is a consolidated view of structural condition — not another isolated monitoring silo — so that operators can correlate concrete structure data with annular space and temperature information in real time.
Roctest’s concrete SHM systems are designed to match the full operational life of an LNG facility — typically 40 years. Vibrating wire sensors are specifically selected for this application because their frequency-based measurement principle is inherently stable over time, immune to cable resistance drift, and requires no recalibration access after the concrete has been poured and the sensors are permanently embedded.
