Bridge Structural Identification for Condition Assessment: Collaborative Research

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This project focuses on exploring the role of structural identification in transforming the current semi-empirical practice to a rational knowledge-base, thereby paving the way for effective and optimum infrastructure designing operation and management. Fundamental questions pertaining to the use of structural identification for bridge structures will be answered. The research will be primarily focused on structural identification in terms of data processing, quality assurance, damage evaluation, and reliability evaluation. The experimental and analytical tools that permit meaningful and practical applications of structural identification are only presently emerging. A test bridge has already been instrumented which is a 10 year old, 188 ft long, three-span, two lane, integral abutment, reinforced concrete-deck-on-steel-girders overpass in the Cincinnati area to provide needed test data. Another bridge is under construction and is being instrumented with over 350 sensors. Accelerations, displacements, rotations, strains, temperatures, truck-loads and environmental conditions will be monitored over the long-term by intelligent monitoring systems. In addition to active and passive sensors, photogrammetric image-processing technologies will be used. The structural identification experiments will include: modal testing by impact, modal testing by multi-input forced-excitation, geometry-monitoring, traffic-inputs and operating responses, environmental inputs and ambient responses, static proof-level multiple truck-loading, etc. A wide variety of structural identification approaches and analytical tools will be studied.