Abstract: System and method to manage the structural integrity of critical systems for decision-making support actions based upon their condition, in a structural health management system, analysing information from physical sensors through a computational model (101) of the system. The invention comprises an optimal sensor placement method, a data acquisition system with multi-sensor capability mounted/embedded in the critical system (100), a sampling algorithm for balanced compacted information flow from sensor to storage, a data exchange channel (12) linking the physical module (100) with the virtual one (101), a simulated model of the components/structures combined with the adequate solver for the actual physics involved on the problem and an optimization tool, a database to store data and manage results, a decision module for diagnostics and prognostics of the component/structure integrity status, and a data treatment and visualisation tools (22).