Innovative structural damage detection of bridges by least squares adjustment with constraints
(2016)
Long-term monitoring of bridges requires the early detection of spreading damage because very often the damage is not really visible. For many decades engineers and scientists relayed on dynamic methods especially modal ones. However, after fundamental tests by the U.S. FHWA in 1993, it became evident that more successful methods should be developed, but no innovation really happened. A substantial innovative detection method started four years ago from Lagrange Multiplier Testing which eventually resulted in experimental verification based on measurement of deflection and curvature of the bridge beam and together the methodological combination of both.
Mit einem auf Lagrange-Multipiikator-Tests basierenden Monitoring von Brücken ist es gelungen, in Belastungsversuchen an einer Holzbrücke (7,25 m Spannweite), an der relativ kleine Schädigungen künstlich herbeigeführt worden waren, die Zuverlässigkeit dieser Art des Monitorings zu bestätigen. Ausgangspunkte waren Messung von Durchbiegungen sowie Krümmungen und die Zusammenführung der jeweiligen Regression mit Nebenbedingungen, die den mechanischen Bedingungen gehorchen, unter Einschluss von Lagrange-Multiplikatoren, die sich als brauchbare Testparameter erwiesen.
Berlin Main Station is the largest multi-level station in Europe. Its daily passenger number amounts to over 300.000. Structures built for such a large number of people require a high-level safety standard. The station was built on the inner city site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof. The conditions for building and start of operation were challenging by several reasons. The typical sandy ground with a high level of groundwater makes the permanent static stability of such a complex structure difficult. Several completed, ongoing, and planned construction activities in the immediate vicinity of the station influence the ground settlement of the whole area. On basis of the structural design an impact prediction was calculated, which expected certain vertical displacements particularly between the single columns of the outer concrete bridges of the building. These columns support the glass roof construction, which only allows a defined limit of displacement. In order to avoid damage, a concept for monitoring and adjusting potentially occurring displacements was developed for installation at the outer bridges of the station.
Measurement and data recording systems are important parts of a holistic Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system.
New sensor technologies such as fiber-optic sensors are often used; however, standards (or at least guidelines) are not yet available or internationally approved. This lack in standardization makes the acceptance of FOS technologies in complex SHM systems substantially difficult. A standard family for different FOS technologies is therefore being developed that should help to design SHM systems in an optimal way. International standardization activities take place in several standardization bodies such as IEC and ASTM, and within SHM societies such as ISHMII.
The paper reports on activities in standardization of fiber-optic sensors, on results already achieved, and on newly started projects. Combined activities of fiber sensor experts and SHM experts from Civil Engineering are presented. These contributions should help owners of structures as well as developers of sensors and monitoring systems to select effective and validated sensing technologies. Using these standards, both parties find recommendations how to proceed in development of SHM systems to evaluate the structural behavior based on e.g. standardized fiber optic sensors, and to derive necessary measures, e.g. the optimal maintenance strategy.
Standardization in fibre-optic sensing for structural safety - activities in the ISHMII and IEC
(2015)
Fiber-optic sensors are increasingly established in the sensor market. Their advantages have unquestionably been verified by numerous demonstrations to enhance the operational performance of aged structures or to monitor the structural behavior of safety-relevant structures or their components. However, there are some barriers in use due to a lack of extensive standardization of fiber-optic sensors. This leads very often to restraints in the users community. The paper shows the status in international standardization of fiber-optic sensors as well as current activities in leading institutions such as IEC and ISHMII and others with the purpose of providing relevant standards for a broader use of selected fiber-optic sensor technologies.