Distributed Health Monitoring System for Zhanjiang Bay Bridge

Abstract

Zhanjiang Bay Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 480 m. In order to verify the structural properties and monitor its behavior in service and extreme conditions, a Distributed Bridge Health Monitoring System (DBHMS) was installed when the bridge opened to traffic in December 2006. Based on the analysis of the bridge's behavior, the DBHMS was designed to be a concise monitoring system with a minimum of 60 sensors to monitor the key parameters. The entire system was designed as a three-layer structure consisting of sensors, substations, and a server. The system reliability was improved by distributing part of the data processing from the central server into substations located at the bridge. Practical structural behavior identification techniques, including virtual channel, three-level warning system, and data statistics, were developed for the real-time health monitoring of this bridge. Some analysis of the data collected during these two years showed the efficiency of this system in detecting the bridge's abnormal behaviors under the excitation of temperature, traffic load, and a typhoon.