STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING OF PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE BOX GIRDER BRIDGE

Abstract

Abstract- Structural health monitoring has been one instrument of making predictive studies about the behaviour of structures and reinforcing them at optimal places of weakness. The work has revolved around only few aspects of this large methodology and addressing the key concepts in the theoretical sense of knowledge. It involves the monitoring and assessment of the 28 span post tensioned prestressed concrete box girder bridge on an important railway line in India. The bridge entails some serious longitudinal web cracks, which restricted its full load carrying capacity. The data obtained from full scale load tests for both static and dynamic loading has been utilised in this work. Optical strain sensors and electric resistance strain gauges had been used for strain measurements and piezoelectric sensors were used to record accelerations. Sensors were also installed to record crack widths. Data analysis procedure are applied over for refinement of the data. A numerical model has been created with finite element modeling software for uncracked conditions. A preliminary assessment of results from the uncracked model are compared with the field response of actual bridge. The uncracked model possible outcomes has been qualitatively been defined .The eventual use of this comparison of the results would be in developing a model which responds in the most alike manner as to that of real bridge. This representative model can then be used as a predictive tool for future assessment and structural remediation of the bridge.