Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Research Areas

• Composite structures
• Metallic Structures
• Concrete Structures

• PhD
• MTech
• BTech

• Project

• Facilities

Despite meticulous design and construction, engineered structures often develop internal defects due to manufacturing inconsistencies, operational loads, environmental degradation, or material aging. The structural integrity and safe performance of infrastructure is critically undermined if such damage, including microcracks, interfacial debonding, delaminations, reinforcement corrosion, or degradation in steel connections, progresses undetected. For instance, impact and fatigue loading in composite structures can create internal delaminations, while sustained service loading and environmental exposure in reinforced concrete can initiate microcracking and corrosion of steel reinforcement. In steel structures, cyclic loading and environmental effects can lead to fatigue cracking in welded joints and progressive loosening or slip in bolted connections. These damage mechanisms may remain hidden and progressively evolve under service conditions until they reach a critical state and compromise structural safety. A major challenge in contemporary structural engineering, particularly for aging concrete, steel, and composite systems, is the early and reliable identification of damage in critical components before failure occurs. Conventional periodic inspections are labor intensive, costly, and often incapable of capturing subtle or evolving damage between inspection intervals.

Prof. Banerjee's research focuses on continuous and autonomous condition based structural health monitoring in combination with nondestructive evaluation, through the integration of advanced sensing and signal processing techniques such as ultrasonic guided waves, acoustic emission, electromechanical impedance, and vibration based monitoring, together with physics informed machine learning algorithms. The integration of such smart structural health monitoring systems into engineering structures enables real time detection, localization, and quantification of damage, thereby supporting timely intervention, enhancing safety, and significantly reducing life cycle costs for both new and existing infrastructure.

Retrofitting and strengthening of deficient or aging structures using advanced composite technologies such as fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) and fibre reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) systems has emerged as an efficient and durable solution for enhancing structural performance. The FRCM and FRP based retrofitting technologies developed by our group are designed to improve load carrying capacity, ductility, and durability of reinforced concrete and masonry structures while minimizing added weight and construction time. These systems are particularly effective for flexural and shear strengthening, confinement of columns, and mitigation of corrosion related deterioration. When combined with appropriate design, detailing, and quality control, FRCM and FRP retrofitting provides a reliable and cost effective strategy for extending service life, improving seismic performance, and upgrading existing infrastructure to meet modern performance requirements.

Prof. Sauvik Banerjee, Department of Civil Engineering,  IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, Email- sauvik@civil.iitb.ac.in, Tel: +91-22-25767343.