A Characterization of Traffic and Temperature Induced Strains Acquired Using a Bridge Monitoring System

This study reviews different data analysis approaches to demonstrate possible means for getting information at different levels from the most commonly used strain sensors in an SHM system for short term and long term applications. The different methods are discussed from a real life monitoring study. First, the test bridge is presented with a brief introduction of the monitoring system and the sensor locations. Then, pre-processing and evaluation of raw strain data is discussed to identify the functionality of the installed sensors. Afterwards, strain data characterization by means of traffic and temperature induced strains is shown for more in-depth data analysis techniques. Finally, a new damage identification methodology based on strain correlation is discussed briefly. It is shown that there should be a suite of techniques and features to be available for implementation in SHM systems since one particular technique/feature may not be very reliable or sufficient for a particular case and/or structure.