Remote health monitoring for asset management

Abstract

This project explored the development of real-time monitoring technology to be used for effective asset management. There is a critical need to develop technologies to assess and monitor the condition of these bridges over time, to improve the information available to decision-makers such that effective asset management strategies can be employed. This project investigated the development of an instrumented pile that could provide real-time data on bridge scour, allowing for the remote monitoring of bridge conditions by key managers and engineers. The developed technology has the potential to identify hazardous conditions at a bridge site, such that managers and owners can be notified automatically and appropriate actions can be undertaken. The instrumented pile monitors the temperature along its length using an array of semiconductor thermometers embedded in the soil in a river bed. This technology provides a practical means of managing a bridge asset by reporting on potentially dangerous scour conditions such that mitigation strategies can be employed. A prototype pile was designed and constructed that utilized an array of 64 sensors along the length of a 20 ft. HSS 10 x 10 pile. The test pile was installed in Hinkson Creek, Columbia, MO. The test pile was successful in demonstrating the feasibility and operation of the newly developed sensor array technology.