A Passive Structural Health Monitoring System for Bridges

摘要

The paper discusses the development and testing of a passive, peak strain sensor technology for use in damage assessment and health monitoring of bridges. The technology is based on the irreversible magnetic property changes that occur in a class of steel alloys when strained. This feature provides for sensors which can passively monitor the peak applied strain (or deflection) at a specific location within a structure. Results of past and ongoing test applications as well as a discussion on future instrumentation sites are presented.