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Monitoring of strain profile variations in the RC slab of a short-span railway bridge

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Abstract

A novel monitoring scheme oriented towards the structural examination of reinforced concrete slabs subject to railway traffic action is presented. Monitoring is based on the measurement of the mean axial strain profile variation in the cross-section of the slab. The strain profile is reconstructed under the assumption of plane sections by measuring the variation of two distances between two pairs of points materialized at two different levels under the slab on rigid attachments fixed on the slab. The distance variations are measured by means of strain gages measuring the deformation of two very thin strips connecting the two attachments. The implementation of the above scheme on a short-span railway bridge for a period of 7 months and the processing of the acquired signals are presented in detail. Some interesting monitoring records are provided over which the efficiency of the proposed scheme is discussed.

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Abbreviations

ε :

Strain

ε train max, d :

Maximum strain recorded on a reinforcement bar during the passage of a train according to the direct method

ε train max, ind :

Maximum strain at the level of the reinforcement during the passage of a train according to the indirect method

EMI:

Electromagnetic interference

FFT:

Fast Fourier transform

RC:

Reinforced concrete

ULS:

Ultimate limit state

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Mr. Gilles Guignet of EPFL for his contribution in designing and implementing the monitoring system. They are also grateful to the Swiss Federal Railways for the permission to monitor the underpass. This work has been financially supported by VALE international SA, CH-1162 Saint-Prex; Grant No 520.222.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Maintenance and Safety of Structures, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), EPFL ENAC IIC MCS GC B2 400, (Bâtiment GC) Station 18, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Vasileios Grigoriou & Eugen Brühwiler

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  1. Vasileios Grigoriou
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  2. Eugen Brühwiler
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Correspondence to Vasileios Grigoriou.

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Grigoriou, V., Brühwiler, E. Monitoring of strain profile variations in the RC slab of a short-span railway bridge. J Civil Struct Health Monit 6, 587–601 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-016-0175-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-016-0175-6

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