Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges Using Smart Sensing Techniques

Abstract

The subject of structural health monitoring, or SHM, is expanding quickly and offers a platform for ongoing evaluation of civil engineering structures to guarantee their serviceability and safety. Over the past few decades, a variety of SHM tactics have been put forth. However, applying them to civil infrastructures presents minimal difficulties. In order to evaluate the structure's performance, the majority of SHM strategies currently in use basically call for measuring the number of loads that are applied to it. Nevertheless, it is frequently challenging to quantify the loads acting on the structure (bridges), or more often, it is more challenging to apply such pressures to the structures in order to obtain answers. The application of current SHM techniques for evaluating the condition of civil engineering structures—which necessitate load measurement—has been restricted by this challenge. Methods for monitoring and evaluating the health of structures that use ambient vibrations caused by loads have grown in popularity. However, further study is needed to create methods for evaluating health that take into account the ambient vibration of structures. The fact that damage is a local phenomenon presents another challenge to using the current SHM technique. When compared to sensors located far from the damage, those located close to the damage record the highest reactions. Consequently, sensors need to be widely spaced across a structure in order to identify deterioration in that structure.