Big Time-Series Data Analytics in Structural Health Monitoring at the Acropolis of Athens Utilising Optical Fibre Sensors
Big Time-Series Data Analytics in Structural Health Monitoring at the Acropolis of Athens Utilising Optical Fibre Sensors
The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most iconic ancient Greek monumental complexes still preserved today. Among its monuments, such as the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Arrephorion, the ancient Circuit Wall stands out as a key geotechnical element. This masonry retaining structure, composed of mixed marble and stone, surrounds and supports the Acropolis Hill plateau, functioning as a gravity wall that ensures overall stability. Due to the sites prolonged environmental exposure and seismic vulnerability, the Wall has experienced various loading conditions over time, resulting in notable structural degradation. To assess and monitor its condition, an advanced structural health monitoring system employing Fiber Bragg Grating sensors was installed. The monitoring system comprised eight optical fibre strain sensors mounted on four smart rods (with inner and outer configurations), two temperature sensors installed on a separate rod for thermal compensation, and one acceleration sensor installed on the Wall. The sensors were connected in series and parallel configurations to optimise signal integrity and data transmission efficiency. Measurements were continuously recorded over several months, producing very large datasets that demanded specialised processing and analysis methods. Raw sensor data were systematically ingested using custom data pipelines implemented in R, a programming language and environment for statistical computing, data analysis and visualisation, organised into conformed and unified datasets, and cleaned to ensure quality and consistency. The resulting time series were transformed to enable visualisation and efficiently stored to support further analysis and long-term insight extraction. Overall, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of optical fibre sensing for heritage preservation, providing reliable, trend analysis insights into structural behaviour, and establishing a scalable framework for monitoring other culturally significant monuments exposed to similar stress patterns.
Elena Kapogianni; Georgios Sakellariou; Michael Sakellariou
4th International Symposium on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites
Materials, Monitoring and Geotechnical Investigation Methods
https://doi.org/10.53243/tc301-2026-37