WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PROPER MONITORING OF BRIDGES FOR EARLY DAMAGE DETECTION AND INTERVENTION

  • 15 Jan 2024
  • Blog
  • Comments Off on WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PROPER MONITORING OF BRIDGES FOR EARLY DAMAGE DETECTION AND INTERVENTION

There are about 56,000 structurally deficient bridges in the U.S., and these bridges accommodate on average 188 million trips each day according to data from the Federal Highway Administration.

The nation’s transportation infrastructure is aging. More than 200,000 bridges are now more than 50 years old, and many are approaching the end of their design life. Although the seismic construction requirements are aimed to protect the lives of those crossing bridges. The number of bridges that are in such poor condition as to be considered structurally deficient is increasing and posing potential risk.

Fourteen years ago, the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis collapsed. The cars, trucks and even a school bus were driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic across in the evening rush hour. Bridge’s failure plummeted them into the water and onto the rocky river banks. This disaster left a death toll of thirteen and injured 145. The officials were warned that the bridge was structurally deficient due to significant corrosion in its bearings. A federal inspection also rated the bridge structurally deficient, giving it a 50 on a scale of 100 for structural stability.

In 2018, another horrific bridge collapse occurred in the Florida International University campus in Miami. The failed pedestrian bridge killed six and injured eight people. The bridge was under construction and the errors in the design overestimated how much stress the structure could take.

The question arose about the cause of the collapse of bridges and whether they could have been prevented.

Emergent technologies in sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing are now remedying engineers to construct stronger bridges and also improve bridge maintenance for longer life-span. To provide continuous feedback on the bridge’s structural conditions, sensors supporting structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are being installed into both new and existing bridges.

A robust SHM system, including various sensors and data analytics to monitor the bridge’s real-time integrity, can provide officials and engineers with the knowledge and “peace of mind” that the bridge is performing as expected, and the ability to detect a change in its performance. This knowledge and ability are critical because they are directly responsible for the consequences of failure. To prevent catastrophic collapses, especially the bridges that require significant maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement can significantly benefit from the SHM system to monitor its elements founds to be in poor condition due to deterioration or damage.

At QuakeLogic, we provide the most comprehensive SHM system for bridges. We are the only company with a cloud-based, AI-powered technology platform performing autonomous structural assessments using sensor data. Our platform sends rapid notifications with the level of shaking intensity in case of an earthquake and whether the bridge’s integrity is compromised. This system can not only monitor for earthquakes but also utilize data from various sensors such as accelerometers, potentiometers, inclinometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, and weather stations. Our platform sends meaningful and easy-to-understand information. This timely and critical information helps the bridge officials and engineers to give informed decisions and plan their responses appropriately.

Our structural health monitoring platform response matches for the first time the timing of the earthquake impact, which was impossible before. This platform can provide timely information that is needed for an understanding of the performance of a bridge and address problems earlier to improve public safety.

PROPER MONITORING CAN PROVIDE EARLY DAMAGE DETECTION AND INTERVENTION FOR DAMS

When disaster strikes, we are all at risk! The unprepared ones will get hit the hardest. Today, at least 1,680 dams across the U.S. rated in poor or unsatisfactory conditions. These dams pose potential risks according to the Associated Press article. Without urgent action, aging dams (dams in the U.S. are on average over 50 years old) may not be able to adequately handle the intense rainfall and floods of a changing climate or imminent earthquakes. Because the housing developments are often located nearby these dams, they may fail to protect people.

The significance of structural health monitoring (SHM) for dam safety is widely acknowledged. There are a number of unfortunate examples of failed dams where early signs of deficiencies might have been monitored and detected if a proper SHM system had been in place. A robust SHM system can provide timely information that is needed for an understanding of the performance of a dam. The SHM system, including instrumentation and data analytics, can provide dam owners with the knowledge that a dam is performing as expected, and the ability to detect a change in its integrity. This knowledge and ability are critical for the dam owners because they are directly responsible for the consequences of failure. Because of these reasons, a robust safety monitoring system should be a fundamental part of every dam owners risk management progra

QuakeLogic provides the most comprehensive structural health monitoring solution for dams. We are the only company with a cloud-based, AI-powered technology platform performing autonomous structural assessments using sensor data. After an earthquake occurs, our platform sends rapid notifications to our users. These notifications include the level of shaking intensity and whether the structural integrity of the dam is compromised. This system not only monitors earthquakes but also utilizes data from various sensors such as potentiometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, weather stations, piezometers and seepage (weirs & flumes).

QuakeLogic’s intelligent structural health monitoring platform generates meaningful and easy-to-understand information. This timely and critical information helps the dam owners to give informed decisions and plan their responses appropriately.

We provide “peace of mind” to dam owners. To learn about our risk management solutions, please contact us at info@quakelogic.net

COMPARING EXPECTED EARTHQUAKE SHAKING IN ISTANBUL WITH THE 1999 M7.6 IZMIT EARTHQUAKE

In 1999, the magnitude 7.6 quake devastated part of northwest Turkey, not far from Istanbul [~70 km (43 mi) away from the earthquake’s epicenter]. The 37 seconds shaking killed about 17,000 people and left 250,000 homeless. This unfortunate event was a wake-up call for the nation. Twenty years later, northwest Turkey is still under the threat of a major quake. Prof. Polat Gulkan and I studied six plausible earthquake scenarios that may impact Istanbul directly due to the rupturing of Marmara Sea submarine faults. We compared the ground shaking from these scenarios with the actual magnitude 7.6 Izmit event.

Our most frightening finding is that the West of the Istanbul Metropolitan area is expected to be shaken more than three times as it did during the Izmit earthquake. This part of the metropolitan including Atakoy, Bakirkoy and Avcilar districts experienced significant damage mainly due to the strong amplification of ground shaking from underlying soft sediments during the 1999 event.

The elevated earthquake risk for the Istanbul Metropolitan is not different than other big U.S. cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.

Because the earthquake’s impact is so sudden, our response should be as quick as possible too. Today, technology reached a tipping point that revolutionary AI, advanced sensor technology and cloud-computing allow us to respond to earthquake disasters rapidly. By instrumenting buildings, bridges, dams and other infrastructure with sensors, and by using real-time data analytics, we can lessen much of the impact and suffer from earthquakes.

To learn about our AI-powered earthquake risk management solutions, please contact us at info@quakelogic.net