Structural health monitoring of innovative bridge decks

Abstract

For more than a century, important civil engineering structures such as bridges, high-rise buildings, dams and marine platforms have contained iron or steel as the reinforcement for concrete or wood. The useful lives of such structures have often been severely limited by the corrosion of this ferrous component. Much thought has been given in recent years to constructing structures that are lighter, stronger and non-corrosive. These innovative structures are new and for these to be accepted by the engineering community monitoring is mandatory. ISIS Canada has been developing such structures and monitoring them. In this paper, innovative bridge decks that have been implemented are described.

Keywords:

• Second-generation steel-free deck slab
• Arching action
• Bridge deck slab
• Structural health monitoring
• Fibre reinforced polymer, FRP
• Fibre optic sensor, FOS

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Vector Construction and Earth Tech for their valuable assistance with the projects in Manitoba. Also, the financial assistance of NCE, ISIS Canada and NSERC towards the research reported in this paper is gratefully acknowledged. The fatigue testing of full-scale model deck slabs is part of the research that Mr Amjad Memon is currently conducting towards his Ph.D. The full-scale, second-generation, steel-free/GFRP hybrid bridge deck is part of the research being conducted by Mr Chad Klowak, who will be reporting his findings in his M.Sc. thesis (“The design, construction, and structural health monitoring of an innovative second generation steel-free/FRP hybrid bridge deck”, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.) Also, the collaboration of Dr Baidar Bakht and Dr Gamil Tadros is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

First published online 11 March 2005.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aftab Mufti

First published online 11 March 2005.