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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI _____________ , 20 _____ I,______________________________________________, hereby submit this as part of the requirements for the degree of: ________________________________________________ in: ________________________________________________ It is entitled: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Approved by: ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring of Highway Bridges A dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science of the College of Engineering 2000 by Victor J. Hunt B.S.E.E., University of Cincinnati, 1988 M.S., University of Cincinnati, 1991 Committee Chair: Arthur J. Helmicki, Ph.D. Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring of Highway Bridges Abstract This research seeks the rational organization and integration of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies, the methods of structural identification, and concepts of reliability and fault detection, each according to its merits, within a system devoted to monitoring the state-of-health of an instrumented structure. A global NDE methodology has been developed based upon the structural identification concept, employing truckload testing, modal testing, and instrumented monitoring as its principal experimental tools. The test results are transformed to both strain influence lines and modal flexibility, which have been demonstrated to be a conceptual, quantitative, comprehensive, and damage-sensitive signature. These parameters also provide an accurate condition index, since it may be used to conveniently obtain the stress profiles and deflected shapes of a bridge under any loading pattern. The capacity rating for the instrumented section and/or an estimation of the remaining fatigue life for the instrumented member/connection based upon the relevant AASHTO codes can be obtained immediately following the controlled truckload testing of the bridge. This methodology has provided several unique deliverables to the aforementioned field of expertise: 1. The application, verification, and assessment of truckload testing, modal impact testing, and long-term monitoring procedures, as well as their necessary sensor types and positioning, for several highway bridges. 2. A reduced set of quantitative models for the estimation and identification of single and multiple span beam response to truckload and impact in both the time and frequency domains. 3. The quantitative evaluation of the most promising damage indices for the detection of induced damage-types on a decommissioned specimen. 4. The quantitative identification of AASHTO condition indices and their requisite assumptions from the acquired field data. The most important contribution of this research is an objective technique for the accurate field identification of bridge parameters (specifically, strain influence lines and modal flexibility) which not only provide for the timely assessment of structural condition but are also sensitive to typical damage scenarios. These results are achieved without a finite element model, but can also serve to calibrate such a model for greater spatial precision and the investigation of other possible damage scenarios, repair/retrofit schemes, and other structural considerations. PREFACE - NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AND RESEARCH SCOPE The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have advocated the concept of an intelligent infrastructure for some time with many initiatives. The Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) Task Group was established in January, 1992, to represent a broadbased, multi-disciplinary approach towards a solution for the nation’s deteriorating and inadequate infrastructure. Due to prohibitive maintenance costs, the task group stressed the need for intelligent renewal which uses limited resources in a cost-effective manner. This necessarily requires a concurrent research initiative to adapt and focus existing knowledge on the monitoring and evaluation of existing structures for their maintained longevity. A grant announcement (NSF 92-56) called for the systems analysis and innovative design of an intelligent structure which would: • Integrate sensor innovations, microelectronic systems, and diagnostic signature analysis • Provide accurate evaluation of condition, residual strength, and remaining life • Explore the application of new materials, such as fiberglass composites The University of Cincinnati Infrastructure Institute (UCII) has over ten years of experience in the research of assessment technologies for structures, including: • Loads and natural hazards (service, fatigue, strength, and extreme-event limit states) • Nondestructive evaluation via controlled truckload and modal testing • Long-term monitoring and on-line prediction of needed maintenance • Advanced on-site instrumentation systems and smart materials • Destructive testing, damage process mechanisms and evaluation of remaining service life • Characterization of performance under extreme events and acceptable risk • Interdependence and collocation of infrastructure systems • Geographical information systems • Social and economic effects Three instrumented, steel-stringer bridges in Cincinnati have served as an on-going testbed for UCII research since 1995. Each has been fitted with a custom on-site monitoring system in order to record the effects of the environment, traffic, and our annual regimen of bridge tests. Moreover, one has been subjected to controlled damage and will permit evaluation of different hypotheses on damage detection. Together, they represent the birth, life, and demise of a typical steel-stringer bridge in Ohio. Steel-stringer bridges, the most common bridge in Ohio, have and will continue to be an important bridge type for UCII. We have examined the before, during, and after effects of the largest truckload in Ohio history (352 ton) as it crossed three critical steel-stringer bridges in Toledo. Several of these bridges were tested and/or monitored during the recent construction of Fort Washington Way along the riverfront in downtown Cincinnati. Six specimens of a thirty bridge project have been truckload and modal impact tested for the beginnings of a statistical database for these bridge types in order to facilitate their general rating, overload routing, maintenance planning, and inventory management by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). Other bridge types have also come under our investigation in recent years. A fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bridge in Dayton is currently being evaluated for its long-term and reliable application for the infrastructure. A cantilever truss bridge in Ironton, built in 1922 over the Ohio River, is presently under our “microscope” due to concerns regarding its present load and fatigue capacity. Given the synergy of the on-going research and test specimens, the expressed objective for UCII research is the systematic and integrated development of an optimal field testing regimen and a long-term on-site health monitor for highway bridges with a major emphasis on steel-stringer bridges. While the concept of an intelligent structure is not new, many of the issues that need to be resolved are not all recognized. Further, real-life implementation of well-researched concepts is still a major challenge. The basic issues that are obstructing this research goal include: • Limitations in sensor and data-acquisition technologies • Limitations in state-of-the-art field experimentation • Optimal integration of human and machine intelligence, specifically: • Accumulated heuristic know-how and experience on bridge engineering • Structural testing results and on-line instrumented monitoring data The final product is envisioned as an on-site continuous health monitor which: • Acquires sensor data at variable sampling speeds, • Communicates with peripheral devices such as a video camera or traffic scale, • Provides a graphical interface via Internet and phone line with a remote engineer, • Performs simple range and other checks for sensor faults, • Identifies parameters for a simple beam or grid model of the bridge, • Detects any structural degradation or damage via thresholds, • Has an open architecture for future expansion or connection. This research is meant to complement and extend the work currently funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Science Foundation and other agencies. The UCII researchers have developed a rational, global condition assessment technique that addresses the conceptualization and measurement of several unknowns for bridges, which include: • A lack of quantitative knowledge on the as-built state parameters (e.g., initial stresses, strains and displacements, local and global stiffness) and their variation over time; • A lack of clear and quantitative definitions for the performance parameters (e.g., reliability, functionality, serviceability, safety, lifecycle cost, etc.) and relationships between the state and performance parameters; • A lack of a clear and complete understanding of the phenomena