Interferometric imaging: involvement in civil engineering

Civil engineering is making an increasing use of modem interferometric imaging methods in various types of measurements. This paper attempts to clarify the present and potential role of such methods in this discipline. Two key factors should help to apprehend this role: (1) an assessment of the type and characteristics of measurements needed for the sustained development of the field; and (2) an account of the advances made by interferometric imaging since the inventions of the laser and holography 35 years ago. The paper is organized to principally address this second theme by first commenting on the fundamentals of interferometric imaging and then presenting applications of the different methods, with a distinction between laboratory and in situ tests. As for the first concern, it is considered that very sensitive and accurate measurements of shape, deformation, and strain fields are of primary importance, as exemplified by the reported applications.