Deep-Learning-Based Temporal Prediction for Mitigating Dynamic Inconsistency in Vehicular Live Loads on Roads and Bridges

Abstract

Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) data have been collected by state departments of transportation (DOT) in the U.S. and are anticipated to grow as state DOTs expand the number of WIM sites in order to better manage transportation infrastructure and enhance mobility. Traditional approaches for monitoring the vehicle weight measured in WIM systems include conducting statistical tests between two datasets obtained from two calibration visits. Depending on the frequency of visits, these traditional approaches are ineffective or resource-demanding for identifying calibration needs. Excessive vehicle-weight drifts exceeding 10% are usually indicative of poor performance by WIM systems. However, it has been difficult to consistently monitor such performance due to the sheer amount of data. In Georgia, the number of WIM sites have expanded from 12 to 29 in the past 3 years. This paper proposes a deep-learning-based temporal prediction approach for modeling sequential data and monitoring the time-history of the live loads imposed on roads and bridges. In total, 29 WIM sites in Georgia are analyzed to examine the effectiveness of a proposed temporal prediction approach for evaluating observed live loads. This study finds that the Jensen–Shannon divergence method is more effective than statistical difference tests, particularly when screening for live load anomalies. It is concluded that a LSTM neural network is able to capture temporal dynamics underlying the sequential load patterns observed in the WIM data and serves as an effective model for consistently monitoring the performance of WIM systems over time.