Dynamic monitoring of a masonry arch rail bridge using a distributed fiber optic sensing system

Masonry arch bridges are an integral part of the European transportation infrastructure. Regular inspections are critical to ensure the safe operation of these bridges and also to preserve historical heritage. Despite recent advancements in assessment techniques, monitoring masonry arch bridges rema...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of civil structural health monitoring Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 1075 - 1090
Main Authors Cheng, Liangliang, Cigada, Alfredo, Zappa, Emanuele, Gilbert, Matthew, Lang, Zi-Qiang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Arch bridges
Bridge loads
Bridges
Civil Engineering
Control
Dynamical Systems
Engineering
Fiber optics
Masonry
Measurement Science and Instrumentation
Monitoring
Moving loads
Original Paper
Railway bridges
Vibration
Strain measurement
Structural health monitoring
Dynamic measurement
Distributed fiber optics
Masonry railway bridge
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Summary:Masonry arch bridges are an integral part of the European transportation infrastructure. Regular inspections are critical to ensure the safe operation of these bridges and also to preserve historical heritage. Despite recent advancements in assessment techniques, monitoring masonry arch bridges remains a difficult and important research topic. This paper describes a proof-of-concept study carried out on a masonry arch rail bridge in Gavirate, Italy, to investigate the dynamic responses of the bridge to train-induced moving loads. The dynamic measurements are obtained by a distributed fiber optic sensing system that enables a novel inspection of the integrity of masonry arch bridges. The focus of this field study is to quantify the dynamic strain induced by train moving loads and reveal the masonry arch bridge’s dynamic behaviors through the use of an innovative distributed fiber optical sensing-based technique. The results may provide a useful guideline for the application of distributed fiber optical sensing to monitoring masonry arch bridges.
ISSN:2190-5452
2190-5479
DOI:10.1007/s13349-024-00774-0