Structural Health Monitoring of Long-Span Continuous Girder Bridge: System Implementation and Data Analysis

Abstract

Long-span bridges are the key component of the human transportation system, linking communities over vast obstacles. To ensure the safe operation of long-span bridges, structural health monitoring (SHM) is perhaps the most effective solution. This study takes a 430[Formula: see text]m four-span continuous girder bridge as an example and systematically presents an implementation example of the SHM system on the bridge regarding monitoring items, sensor placement, and sensor parameters. The monitoring data including operational load and bridge response are analyzed and the statistical rules of these monitoring data are presented. Besides, the modal parameters of the girder are tracked from long-term vibration monitoring data. Furthermore, the correlations between structural temperature and bridge response are analyzed, and the correlation formulas between bridge modal frequency, static responses, and structural temperature are finally given. The analysis results reveal significant seasonal variations in the responses of the continuously monitored girder bridge, offering valuable insights for data-driven assessment and early warning systems for bridges.