Executive Summary
Elia Group, the electricity transmission system operator in Belgium, partnered with Sentrisense to evaluate a smarter way of assessing the remaining lifespan of overhead copper conductors. With portions of its network dating back nearly a century, Elia faced a complex challenge: how to detect fatigue in aging infrastructure before failure occurs.
To solve this, the project deployed SENTRI sensors to monitor aeolian vibrations—subtle, wind-induced movements that can reveal material fatigue invisible to the naked eye. After a full year of continuous monitoring, paired with lab-based fatigue tests, Elia was able to confidently assess the structural condition of decades-old assets.
The Challenge
Elia manages over 9,000 kilometers of overhead transmission circuits. Among them, 1,351 kilometers are copper conductors, many of which have been in operation for several decades without a reliable way to measure their fatigue.
Traditional inspection methods, including visual inspections, thermography, and UV/hyperspectral camera surveys, have proven insufficient for detecting deep material fatigue. These methods rely on surface-level cues or scheduled maintenance intervals, offering little predictive insight.
The result:
- Difficulty identifying aging assets proactively
- Limited visibility into conductor degradation
- High uncertainty when prioritizing replacements
- Risk of over- or under-maintaining infrastructure
Elia needed a data-driven, predictive method to monitor fatigue and help optimize maintenance strategies across its aging grid.
The Sentrisense Solution
What was deployed
- SENTRI sensors installed directly on copper conductors
- Continuous recording of aeolian vibrations over one year
- Lab-based cross-validation through fatigue simulations
What this meant for Elia
- Captured hard-to-detect signs of fatigue by monitoring vibration behavior
- Provided real data from the conductor to evaluate structural aging over time
- Enabled Elia to prioritize resources where actual degradation was occurring
- Opened the door to longer, safer operation of legacy assets
Results
Asset health visibility
- Verified that a nearly century-old conductor was in perfect health
- Demonstrated SENTRI's ability to track aging trends through vibration data
- Created historical vibration profiles for future comparison
Operational efficiency
- Reduced reliance on subjective or ineffective inspection methods
- Gained confidence in asset life expectancy and performance
- Informed future maintenance planning with real-world data instead of assumptions
Strategic impact
- Validated a new, non-invasive monitoring approach
- Set a precedent for aging infrastructure assessment
- Enabled scalable fatigue monitoring beyond visual inspection cycles
Pierre-Henri D'haene Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at Elia"Congratulations to the team! We were delighted to see how Sentrisense's solution serves at the same time society, corporations, and the environment. Excited for the journey together!"