Health monitoring of the Veresk Bridge by comparing the results of precision instrument measurements and modelling with Abaqus software and wavelet function

Abstract

Identification and classification of structural failures is a vital aspect of bridge maintenance. When local structural damage is identified without delay, its repair is less expensive and problematic than in the case of general damage. To determine seismic vulnerability or post-seismic damage, structural health assessments are frequently performed on bridges, dams, and buildings. The aim of this study is to keep track of the overall health of the Veresk Railway Bridge, which has been in service for over 90 years. For this purpose, the structure was modeled in the ABAQUS finite element software. Mode shapes of the structure were then extracted, the positions were determined as maximum points using MATLAB software, and a wavelet function was applied to these shapes. The results showed that the wavelet function is highly accurate and its results are close to the real values measured for the bridge.