Current design standards have not kept pace with the rapid developments in intelligent sensing technologies. In modern engineering practice, engineering structures and structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are considered one entity, referred to as “intelligent structural system”, which is, however, not reflected in current design standards. Sensor data, obtained by SHM systems, provides valuable information about a structure throughout the life cycle, but sensor information provided by SHM systems is not considered in structural modeling concepts. This paper investigates the integration of sensor-based information into design and modeling concepts for intelligent structural systems on an abstract level. Since every civil engineering structure is built with a specific objective, the SHM system installed on the structure must be designed to maintain the specific objective. For example, stress concentration areas identified during the design of civil engineering structures should be observed by monitoring systems with respect to physical quantities of interest. Moreover, continuous validation of sensor data collected by SHM systems against corresponding design models involves coupling of structural models and SHM systems. Such coupling must be considered in the conceptual design phase. This paper presents an abstract approach towards modeling intelligent structures, with particular emphasis focused on coupling of structural models and SHM systems on a conceptual level. As a result, components of intelligent structures are described using an abstract algebraic approach, as illustrated on an intelligent structural system in laboratory experiments.
