The goal of this ICON project is to develop new and robust structural health monitoring procedures and numerical tools based on load and condition monitoring that enable the more accurate lifetime prediction of fleets of quasi identical welded steel structures, such as railway bridges, crane-way girders and jacket offshore platforms. The lifetime assessment is essential towards decision support for quantification of lifetime extension and optimization of predictive maintenance by the industrial partners. This will in the end lead to a substantial reduction of operation and maintenance costs for players in different sectors.

Within the project assets of three industrial partners are analysed: crane-way girders at ArcelorMittal, railway bridges of Infrabel and offshore wind platforms from C-Power. Further partners are 24SEA, Sentea, Ghent University and VUB. This is an intercluster project under the joint umbrella of SIM and IBN Offshore Energy.