ABSTRACT
Fracture Critical members are steel tension components whose failure is expected to result in collapse of the bridge. It is required to inspect fracture-critical bridges using “arms-length” approach, which is costly and time consuming. Structural health monitoring can be used as alternative approach for inspection providing both accuracy and economy. This paper investigates the feasibility of using a handful of self-powered wireless sensors for continuous monitoring and detection of fracture in steel plate girder bridges. A detailed finite element analysis was carried out on a multi-girder bridge using available traffic data. The time histories of displacement obtained for intact and fractured scenarios show that vibration amplitude was significantly increased for fractured girder, and strain variation was recorded especially in the vicinity of fracture, conditions that can be detected with relevant sensors. Moreover, the amplitude and frequency of the vibration was significant enough to provide the required power for typical sensor(s).
