Bridge Deck Load Testing Using Sensors and Optical Survey Equipment

Abstract EN

Bridges are under various loads and environmental impacts that cause them to lose their structural integrity.

A significant number of bridges in US are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, requiring immediate attention.

Nondestructive load testing is an effective approach to measure the structural response of a bridge under various loading conditions and to determine its structural integrity.

This paper presents a load-test study that evaluated the response of a prefabricated bridge with full-depth precast deck panels in Michigan.

This load-test program integrates optical surveying systems, a sensor network embedded in bridge decks, and surface deflection analysis.

Its major contribution lies in the exploration of an embedded sensor network that was installed initially for long-term bridge monitoring in bridge load testing.

Among a number of lessons learned, it is concluded that embedded sensor network has a great potential of providing an efficient and accurate approach for obtaining real-time equivalent static stresses under varying loading scenarios.