scholarly journals Using Statistical Analysis of an Acceleration-Based Bridge Weigh-In-Motion System for Damage Detection

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene OBrien ◽  
Muhammad Arslan Khan ◽  
Daniel Patrick McCrum ◽  
Aleš Žnidarič
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Damage Detection ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Statistical Properties ◽  
Vehicle Weight ◽  
Motion System ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Gross Vehicle Weight ◽  
Bridge Damage ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion

This paper develops a novel method of bridge damage detection using statistical analysis of data from an acceleration-based bridge weigh-in-motion (BWIM) system. Bridge dynamic analysis using a vehicle-bridge interaction model is carried out to obtain bridge accelerations, and the BWIM concept is applied to infer the vehicle axle weights. A large volume of traffic data tends to remain consistent (e.g., most frequent gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 3-axle trucks); therefore, the statistical properties of inferred vehicle weights are used to develop a bridge damage detection technique. Global change of bridge stiffness due to a change in the elastic modulus of concrete is used as a proxy of bridge damage. This approach has the advantage of overcoming the variability in acceleration signals due to the wide variety of source excitations/vehicles—data from a large number of different vehicles can be easily combined in the form of inferred vehicle weight. One year of experimental data from a short-span reinforced concrete bridge in Slovenia is used to assess the effectiveness of the new approach. Although the acceleration-based BWIM system is inaccurate for finding vehicle axle-weights, it is found to be effective in detecting damage using statistical analysis. It is shown through simulation as well as by experimental analysis that a significant change in the statistical properties of the inferred BWIM data results from changes in the bridge condition.

scholarly journals A Novel Acceleration-Based Moving Force Identification Algorithm to Detect Global Bridge Damage

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7271
Author(s):  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Eugene J. OBrien ◽  
Daniel P. McCrum
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Model ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Identification Algorithm ◽  
Force Identification ◽  
Damage Level ◽  
Moving Force ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Vehicle Velocity ◽  
Gross Vehicle Weight ◽  
Bridge Damage

This paper presents a new moving force identification (MFI) algorithm that uses measured accelerations to infer applied vehicle forces on bridges. Previous MFI algorithms use strain or deflection measurements. Statistics of the inferred forces are used in turn as indicators of global bridge damage. The new acceleration-based MFI algorithm (A-MFI) is validated through numerical simulations with a coupled vehicle-bridge dynamic interaction model programmed in MATLAB. A focussed sensitivity study suggests that results are sensitive to the accuracy of the vehicle velocity data. The inferred Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), calculated by A-MFI, is proposed as the bridge damage indicator. A real weigh-in-motion database is used with a simulation of vehicle/bridge interaction, to validate the concept. Results show that the standard deviation of inferred GVWs has a good correlation with the global bridge damage level.

scholarly journals Identifying damage on a bridge using rotation-based Bridge Weigh-In-Motion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. OBrien ◽  
J. M. W. Brownjohn ◽  
D. Hester ◽  
F. Huseynov ◽  
M. Casero
Keyword(s):  
Damage Detection ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Traffic Data ◽  
Simply Supported ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Bridge Model ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bridge Condition Assessment ◽  
Bridge Damage ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion

Abstract Bridge Weigh-in-Motion (B-WIM) systems use the bridge response under a traversing vehicle to estimate its axle weights. The information obtained from B-WIM systems has been used for a wide range of applications such as pre-selection for weight enforcement, traffic management/planning and for bridge and pavement design. However, it is less often used for bridge condition assessment purposes which is the main focus of this study. This paper presents a bridge damage detection concept using information provided by B-WIM systems. However, conventional B-WIM systems use strain measurements which are not sensitive to local damage. In this paper the authors present a B-WIM formulation that uses rotation measurements obtained at the bridge supports. There is a linear relationship between support rotation and axle weight and, unlike strain, rotation is sensitive to damage anywhere in the bridge. Initially, the sensitivity of rotation to damage is investigated using a hypothetical simply supported bridge model. Having seen that rotation is damage-sensitive, the influence of bridge damage on weight predictions is analysed. It is shown that if damage occurs, a rotation-based B-WIM system will continuously overestimate the weight of traversing vehicles. Finally, the statistical repeatability of ambient traffic is studied using real traffic data obtained from a Weigh-in-Motion site in the U.S. under the Federal Highway Administration’s Long-Term Pavement Performance programme and a damage indicator is proposed as the change in the mean weights of ambient traffic data. To test the robustness of the proposed damage detection methodology numerical analysis are carried out on a simply supported bridge model and results are presented within the scope of this study.

scholarly journals Comparative Accuracy Analysis of Truck Weight Measurement Techniques

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Sylwia Stawska ◽  
Jacek Chmielewski ◽  
Magdalena Bacharz ◽  
Kamil Bacharz ◽  
Andrzej Nowak
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Highway Infrastructure ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Motion System ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Comparative Accuracy ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion ◽  
Rational Management ◽  
Truck Weight

Roads and bridges are designed to meet the transportation demands for traffic volume and loading. Knowledge of the actual traffic is needed for a rational management of highway infrastructure. There are various procedures and equipment for measuring truck weight, including static and in weigh-in-motion techniques. This paper aims to compare four systems: portable scale, stationary truck weigh station, pavement weigh-in-motion system (WIM), and bridge weigh-in-motion system (B-WIM). The first two are reliable, but they have limitations as they can measure only a small fraction of the highway traffic. Weigh-in-motion (WIM) measurements allow for a continuous recording of vehicles. The presented study database was obtained at a location that allowed for recording the same traffic using all four measurement systems. For individual vehicles captured on a portable scale, the results were directly compared with the three other systems’ measurements. The conclusion is that all four systems produce the results that are within the required and expected accuracy. The recommendation for an application depends on other constraints such as continuous measurement, installation and operation costs, and traffic obstruction.

Virtual Monitoring of orthotropic steel deck using bridge weigh-in-motion algorithm: Case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 610-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longwei Zhang ◽  
Hua Zhao ◽  
Eugene J OBrien ◽  
Xudong Shao
Keyword(s):  
Field Tests ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
Dynamic Strain ◽  
Orthotropic Steel Deck ◽  
Remaining Service Life ◽  
Fatigue Life Assessment ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Gross Vehicle Weight ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion ◽  
Steel Deck

This article outlines a Virtual Monitoring approach for fatigue life assessment of orthotropic steel deck bridges. Bridge weigh-in-motion was used to calculate traffic loads which were then used to calculate “virtual” strains. Some of these strains were checked through long-term monitoring of dynamic strain data. Field tests, incorporating calibration with pre-weighed trucks and monitoring the response to regular traffic, were conducted at Fochen Bridge, which has an orthotropic steel deck and is located in Foshan City, China. In the calibration tests, a 45-t 3-axle truck ran repeatedly across Lane 2, the middle lane in a 3-lane carriageway. The results show that using an influence surface to weigh vehicles can improve the accuracy of the weights and, by inference, of remaining service life calculations. The most fatigue-prone position was found to be at the cutout in the diaphragms. Results show that many vehicles are overweight—the maximum gross vehicle weight recorded was 148 t, nearly 3.6 times heavier than the fatigue design truck.

scholarly journals Testing of Bridge Weigh-In-Motion System in a Sub-Arctic Climate

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 11686 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Petersen ◽  
RE Link ◽  
P McNulty ◽  
EJ O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Climate ◽  
Motion System ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion

scholarly journals A Simplified Shear-Strain Based Bridge Weigh-In-Motion Method For In-Service Highway Bridges

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Sergio Lobo Aguilar ◽  
Richard E. Christenson
Keyword(s):  
Shear Strain ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Highway Bridges ◽  
Influence Line ◽  
Bending Strain ◽  
Weigh In Motion ◽  
Gross Vehicle Weight ◽  
Bridge Weigh In Motion ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Motion Method

Bridge Weigh-In-Motion (BWIM) has been demonstrated to be reliable for obtaining critical information about the characteristics of trucks that travel over the highways. Continued improvements provides greater opportunity for increased use of BWIM. Traditional BWIM systems based on measuring the bending strain of the bridge have various challenges which has led to a class of BWIM methodologies that employ the use of shear strain in determining the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of crossing trucks. However, the known techniques of these shear-strain BWIM methods assume or measure the shear influence line for the calculation of the GVW. In this paper, an alternative shear-strain based BWIM technique is proposed. The method presented here is independent of the influence line, does not require a measurement of the speed of the truck, and is based on the difference in magnitude observed at the discontinuity of the shear strain record as a truck crosses over the sensor location on the bridge. A series of field tests is presented that demonstrate this shear-strain based BWIM method has error levels consistent with other more complex BWIM methods and as such has great potential to be used for determining the GVWs of trucks that travel on simple or multispan bridges in a consistent and reliable manner.

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