Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology

INE/AUTC 10.0

A sub-Nyquist co-prime sampling music spectral approach for natural frequency identification of white-noise excited structures

Motivated by practical needs to reduce data transmission payloads in wireless sensors for vibration-based monitoring of civil engineering structures, this paper proposes a novel approach for identifying resonant frequencies of white-noise excited structures using acceleration measurements acquired at rates significantly below the Nyquist rate. The approach adopts the deterministic co-prime sub-Nyquist sampling scheme, originally developed to facilitate telecommunication applications, to estimate the autocorrelation function of response acceleration time-histories of low-amplitude white-noise excited structures treated as realizations of a stationary stochastic process. This is achieved without posing any sparsity conditions to the signals. Next, the standard MUSIC algorithm is applied to the estimated autocorrelation function to derive a denoised super-resolution pseudo-spectrum in which natural frequencies are marked by prominent spikes. The accuracy and applicability of the proposed approach is numerically assessed using computer-generated noise-corrupted acceleration time-history data obtained by a simulation-based framework pertaining to a white-noise excited structural system with two closely-spaced modes of vibration carrying the same amount of energy, and a third isolated weakly excited vibrating mode. All three natural frequencies are accurately identified by sampling at as low as 78% below Nyquist rate for signal to noise ratio as low as 0dB (i.e., energy of additive white noise equal to the signal energy), suggesting that the proposed approach is robust and noise-immune while it can reduce data transmission requirements in acceleration wireless sensors for natural frequency identification of engineering structures

Smart FRP Composite Sandwich Bridge Decks in Cold Regions

INE/AUTC 12.0

Design of Wireless Sensor Nodes for Structural Health Monitoring applications

Enabling low-cost distributed monitoring, wireless sensor networks represents an interesting solution for the implementation of structural health monitoring systems. This work deals with the design of wireless sensor networks for health monitoring of civil structures, specifically focusing on node design in relation to the requirements of different structural monitoring application classes. Design problems are analysed with specific reference to a large-scale experimental setup (the long-term structural monitoring of the Basilica S. Maria di Collemaggio, L’Aquila, Italy). Main limitations emerged are highlighted, and adopted solution strategies are outlined, both in the case of commercial sensing platform and of full custom solutions

Mapping the spatial variation of soil moisture at the large scale using GPR for pavement applications

The characterization of shallow soil moisture spatial variability at the large scale is a crucial issue in many research studies and fields of application ranging from agriculture and geology to civil and environmental engineering. In this framework, this work contributes to the research in the area of pavement engineering for preventing damages and planning effective management. High spatial variations of subsurface water content can lead to unexpected damage of the load-bearing layers; accordingly, both safety and operability of roads become lower, thereby affecting an increase in expected accidents. A pulsed ground-penetrating radar system with ground-coupled antennas, i.e., 600-MHz and 1600-MHz center frequencies of investigation, was used to collect data in a 16 m × 16 m study site in the Po Valley area in northern Italy. Two ground-penetrating radar techniques were employed to non-destructively retrieve the subsurface moisture spatial profile. The first technique is based on the evalu¬ation of the dielectric permittivity from the attenuation of signal amplitudes. Therefore, dielectrics were converted into moisture values using soil-specific coefficients from Topp’s relationship. Ground-penetrating-radar-derived values of soil moisture were then compared with measurements from eight capacitance probes. The second technique is based on the Rayleigh scattering of the signal from the Fresnel theory, wherein the shifts of the peaks of frequency spectra are assumed comprehensive indi¬cators for characterizing the spatial variability of moisture. Both ground-penetrating radar methods have shown great promise for mapping the spatial variability of soil moisture at the large scale

GPS monitoring of a steel box girder viaduct

Structural performance monitoring of bridges has increased as major infrastructure ages and is required to sustain loads that are significantly greater than those predicted during design. Structural stiffness and/or mass distribution can change over the lifespan of a bridge structure. Resulting changes in profile or resonant frequency provide key indicators of change, and may identify structural defects. Field tests using GPS for monitoring relatively small deformations were carried out on a steel box girder viaduct bridge in the UK. The configuration consisted of five GPS receivers located at key locations on the viaduct and two reference GPS receivers. GPS data was collected at either 10 Hz or 20 Hz and post-processed using proprietary software, along with appropriate filtering and spectral analysis. Three main frequencies were clearly detected by the GPS in the vertical component. A previously reported frequency of approximately 0.56 Hz was identified along with two other frequencies. The peak vertical deflections lie in the range of ± 50 mm, while lateral and longitudinal deflections of much smaller magnitude - in the order of a few mm - are also measured. The use of GPS leads to readily obtained and useful engineering data for continued monitoring of structures