Fundamental functionalities of wireless smart sensors to measure full-scale bridge vibration, such as time synchronization, loss-less multihop communication, and capability to capture small ambient vibrations, are maturing; dense vibration measurement of large structures using wireless smart sensors is expected to reveal the detailed condition of existing structures. An arch bridge is chosen as a target bridge and densely instrumented by 48 wireless smart sensors. Traffic induced vibration of the bridge has been measured before and after its seismic retrofit. The differences between the measured dynamic characteristics are considered to represent the effects of seismic retrofit. The dense measurement allows comparison of spatial characteristics such as detailed mode shapes, in addition to comparison of natural frequencies. Comparison of densely measured mode shapes reveals their changes, which are then used to update the finite element model of the bridge. The measurement, data analysis, and model updating indicate a potential use of dense instrumentation of wireless smart sensor network for structural condition assessment.

Date Published: 6 April 2012
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8345, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2012, 834536 (6 April 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.915704

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8345:
Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2012
Masayoshi Tomizuka; Chung-Bang Yun; Jerome P. Lynch, Editor(s)