Development of a diagnostic/prognostic system (DPS) for monitoring the performance of repaired composite military bridges

摘要

Composite bridges offer many advantages compared to current steel and aluminum bridges including their lightweight and superior corrosion resistance properties. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive on-going research program to develop innovative field repair techniques for composite bridges. In this study, an innovative Diagnostic/Prognostic System (DPS) for monitoring the performance and reliability of a smart repair kit (SRK) for composite military bridges has been developed. The DPS system is founded on three technologies, namely; optical fiber sensing, remote data transmission and virtual testing. In developing this system, both laboratory and virtual tests simulating the different potential damage scenarios. In order to minimize the number of expensive full-scale tests, virtual testing technique using an advanced progressive failure simulator code (GENOA) was utilized. The results of the pre-simulated damage scenarios are stored in a secure database. Different composite patches with optical fiber sensors are being developed for different damage types. These smart patches act as health-monitoring devices for different parts of the composite bridge, especially areas surrounding the repaired portions of the bridge. In the event of local damage such as debonding of any patch due to excessive loading or lower application quality, for example, the stress distribution will change.