A Data Processing and Control System to Support Remote Infrastructure Monitoring
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2012-10-01
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TRIS Online Accession Number:01473904
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Edition:Final report.
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Abstract:The Hurley Bridge (Wisconsin Structure B-26-7) carries westbound traffic on US Route 2 over the Montreal River from Ironwood, Michigan to Hurley, Wisconsin. The bridge is subject to heavy loads from daily truck traffic. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is concerned about that the observed traffic will cause premature degradation of the structure due to fatigue and overstress conditions. In cooperation with WisDOT, Northwestern University’s Infrastructure Technology Institute (ITI) has installed a continuous remote structure health monitoring system on the bridge consisting of strain gauges, thermocouples, accelerometers and displacement transducers at selected locations, in conjunction with a weigh-in-motion system installed by a third-party contractor. The main objectives of the system include: processing measurements related to structural health, traffic loads, and environmental conditions in an integrated fashion, thereby yielding comprehensive condition assessment and forecasting capabilities; providing real-time, reliable alerts when potential damage or risk of structural change in the facilities is detected; and determining the nature of the detected changes and identifying possible causes. The developed control system demonstrates its capability to: formulate statistical models to estimate and predict long-term performance conditions; construct control charts to detect, characterize, and quantify the effect of unusual changes and trigger reliable alerts when potential risks occur; identify plausible causes of the detected changes and provide valuable information for maintenance and repair. In terms of performance conditions on the bridge, the analysis shows that: (1) seasonal effects and a linear trend, included as a supplementary predictor, account for a large percentage of the overall variation in the response measurements; (2) small, but significant, linear trends indicate permanent displacement of the bridge; and (3) serial dependence appears to be a significant source of common-cause variation. Further implementation of control charts detected 43 special-cause events over the experiment period of April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. While unusual in occurrence, none of the detected changes represent an immediate threat to the safety or serviceability of the Hurley Bridge. Instead, they demonstrate the ability of the data processing system to efficiently and reliably detect out-of-the ordinary events as well as subtle long-term changes. Future work will enable similar data processing systems to provide alerts of structural performance changes in near-real time.
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