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Distributed dynamic fibre-optic strain monitoring of the behaviour of a skewed masonry arch railway bridge

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pSkewed masonry arch railway bridges are common, yet their structural behaviour under typical working loads, along with gradual changes in behaviour due to degradation, can be difficult to determine. This paper aims to address this problem through detailed monitoring of a damaged, skewed masonry arch railway bridge in the UK, which was recently repaired. A comprehensive Structural Health Monitoring system was installed, including an array of fibre-optic Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors to provide distributed sensing data across a large portion of the bridge. This FBG monitoring data is used, in this paper, to investigate the typical dynamic structural response of the skewed bridge in detail, and to quantify the sensitivity of this response to a range of variables. It is observed that the dynamic bridge response is sensitive to the time of day, which is a proxy for passenger loading, to the train speed, and to temperature. It is also observed that the sensitivity of the response to these variables can be local, in that the response can differ throughout the bridge and be affected by existing local damage. Identifying these trends is important to distinguish additional damage from other effects. The results are also used to evaluate some typical assumptions regarding bridge behaviour, which may be of interest to asset engineers working with skewed masonry arch bridges.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

Masonry arch bridge, Skewed arch, Railway bridge, Structural Health Monitoring, Fibre optics, Fibre Bragg Gratings

Journal Title

Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2190-5452
2190-5479

Volume Title

11

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/I019308/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K000314/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L010917/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/N021614/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/M506485/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P013848/1)