A Novel Multi-Sensor Wireless Network for Bridge Structural Health Monitoring

The ability to monitor the condition of a bridge structure to detect damage or changes in condition at early stages is of significant interest to many bridge owners. Currently, the most widely used damage detection methods rely on subjective, incremental visual assessments or localized testing techniques. In this proposal, we propose to develop and test a bridge structural health monitoring system that is low cost and efficient. The system combines various types of sensor information and provides early warning of critical structural problems through cooperative data processing and diagnosis. With minimal human intervention, the system can potentially achieve real-time "smart" health monitoring of primary and secondary bridge structures such as beams, truss, joints, welds that are critical for bridge integrity.