Wireless Sensing System for Load Testing and Rating of Highway Bridges

Structural capacity evaluation of bridges is an increasingly important topic in the effort to deal with the deteriorating infrastructure. Most bridges are evaluated through subjective visual inspection and conservative theoretical rating. Diagnostic load test has been recognized as an effective method to accurately assess the carrying capacity of bridges. Traditional wired sensors and data acquisition (DAQ) systems suffer drawbacks of being labor intensive, high cost, and time consumption in installation and maintenance. For those reasons, very few load tests have been conducted on bridges.;This study aims at developing a low-cost wireless bridge load testing & rating system that can be rapidly deployed on bridges for structural evaluation and load rating. Commercially available wireless hardware is integrated with traditional analogue sensors and the appropriate rating software is developed. The wireless DAQ system can work with traditional strain gages, accelerometers as well as other voltage producing sensors. A wireless truck position indicator (WVPI) is developed and used for measuring the truck position during load testing. The software is capable of calculating the theoretical rating factors based on AASHTO Load Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) codes, and automatically produces the adjustment factor through load testing data. A simplified finite element model was used to calculate deflection & moment distribution factors in order to reduce the amount of instrumentation used in field tests. The system was used to evaluate the structural capacity of Evansville Bridge in Preston County, WV. The results show that the wireless bridge load testing & rating system can effectively be implemented to evaluate the real capacity of bridges with remarkable advantages: low-cost, fast deployment and smaller crew

8th Annual Research Week- Event Proceedings

8th Annual Research Wee

Technology Integration Leaders: A Leaders’ Community of Practice to Negotiate Meaning, Craft a Vision, and Establish Value

Because leaders influence teachers’ pedagogical development, a team of administrative and technological leaders participated in a community of practice (CoP) at an international school in the Netherlands. The purpose was to align thinking, craft a shared technology integration (TI) vision, and develop expectations for teachers to integrate technology into their pedagogy. Although the needs assessment started before the pandemic, the timing coincided with COVID-19 and the world’s emergency reaction to teaching online. The needs assessment in 2018 was measured using the Levels of Technology Innovation Digital Age Survey for Leaders and an adapted version of Principals and Teachers Perceptions of Technology Integration. The results revealed that 37 school leaders valued TI for its potential to enhance instruction. However, the school did not share a common understanding, vision, or expectation of TI across the elementary, middle, and high schools. An intervention program for administrative and technology leaders was initiated in April of 2021. Using a leader’s CoP framework, 11 participants experienced professional learning to negotiate and craft a shared TI vision. Seven of the 11 leaders participated in seven or more sessions. Participants benefited from leveraging pedagogical and technology expertise to shape understanding, craft the shared vision, and develop expectations for the CoP to continue with teacher members. During and after the CoP, leaders began applying the knowledge and initiatives, reflecting the shared vision throughout the school