United States Department of Transportation
i
Long-Term Bridge Maintenance Monitoring Demonstration on a Movable Bridge: A Framework for Structural Health Monitoring of Movable Bridges
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2010-06-01
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[PDF-7.62 MB]
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Abstract:Movable bridges are unique structures with particular maintenance and repair needs. According to FDOT Engineers, the resulting rehabilitation and repairs cost much more than of a fixed bridge per square feet basis. The inspection and maintenance needs make movable bridges ideal candidates for demonstrating Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), or more specifically for this project, Bridge Health Monitoring for maintenance purposes. SHM can be defined as the measurement of a structure’s operating and loading environment through use of a sensing system to track and evaluate incidents, anomalies, damage and deterioration. The objective of this project was to design, develop and implement a structural health monitoring system on a representative movable bridge located in FDOT District 4 for condition assessment mainly for maintenance purposes, detecting anomalies and evaluation of the bridge performance. The selected movable bridge, which was a representative bridge in terms of geometry and age, was the West-bound span of two parallel spans on Sunrise Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale. The researchers designed, developed and successfully implemented a comprehensive structural health monitoring system for the critical structural, mechanical and electrical components using approximately 200+ sensors along with effective analysis methods for condition evaluation and maintenance purposes. Following the implementation of the monitoring system, the bridge was monitored continuously to establish operating conditions under vehicular traffic, environmental effects, and routine operation of the bridge for vehicular and marine traffic. Data was collected for a period of time to set baseline levels as well as to explore input-response relationships for the components of the bridge. In addition, certain deficiency (damage) scenarios in terms of mechanical and structural alterations were implemented in collaboration with FDOT Engineers in order to establish thresholds for conditions that require attention for repair and maintenance. These structural and mechanical deficiencies were successfully detected by the specialized data analysis methods that were developed for various sensor data and video images. In addition to the monitoring data, a truck load test was conducted to obtain data for the bridge structural responses, which were also employed to verify the finite element (FE) model of the bridge. This FE model was then used to determine the load rating of the bridge, and this is important for decision-making on the safe load carrying capacity of existing bridges. The load ratings showed that the main girders, floor beams and stringers of the bridge can safely carry load levels that are highly unlikely to happen on this bridge with three AASHTO design trucks side by side for creating the most critical load placement simultaneously. The findings of this monitoring project have excellent potential for developing improved knowledge on performance and degradation, better design methods and performance predictive models, and advanced management decision making tools for maintenance and operation. It should be noted that the existing system has been developed in parallel to efforts of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Advanced Exploratory Research Program, therefore, it has a potential to have a broader impact.
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