The challenge
This bridge carries six lanes of the M6 so it was vital to monitor its structural behaviour to ensure that maintenance plans could be put in place making sure it remained in good structural health. The structural monitoring solution required by Amey had to be quick, straightforward, and one that did not compromise on accuracy.
Our solution
Our expert team designed a bespoke, real-time monitoring solution to investigate the dynamic load on two of the bridges ten box girders. The installation time of this monitoring system was minimal and was implemented without the use of destructive techniques that could potentially influence the structure.
The system consisted of three key elements:
- Dynamic strain was measured using foil-strain gauges positioned strategically on the stiffeners
- Temperature sensors were also installed across the length of the two girders to mitigate any temperature induced strain on the measurements
- Finally, movement of the cracks on the stiffeners due to traffic loading, was observed via a number of displacement sensors
One thousand samples a second were taken and sent directly to our Insite web portal. Following a seven day monitoring period, the data collected was then presented to the client for review.
