Bridge Dynamic Monitoring and Measurement

Dear Colleagues,

All over the world, bridges have a strategic importance in the life of communities. Unfortunately, as with many other infrastructures, bridges have too often almost reached the end of their structural life, have been poorly maintained, or are currently subjected to loads much higher than those for which they were designed and built.

As with all civil infrastructures, there can be many reasons why a bridge deteriorates. The age of the structure is a significant factor; the passage of time can cause the phenomenal decay of its mechanical and/or geometric characteristics due to fatigue, corrosion, relaxation, etc. Seismic events or fire can also damage bridges.

Until the last century, the concept of bridge maintenance was linked to episodic control through static methods and the destructive or non-destructive investigation of the materials and parts of the structure. Today, the availability of new sensors and new materials, new dynamic methods of computerized analysis, and new data transmission systems instead allows the constant monitoring of a civil infrastructure.

This gives rise to the concept of the structural health of bridges and, in particular, of their monitoring and measurements. To achieve this purpose, sensors capable of instantaneously communicating their measurements to data processing systems, computational techniques for the definition of the structural behavior, and data communication, even at a distance, in a fast and safe way have been developed. These sensors are often dynamic, optical, wired, or wireless, and they are also accompanied by new materials with self-monitoring characteristics.

The computational mechanics for the analysis of the behavior of the structure, the correct interpretation of the signals coming from the sensors, the geomatic methods for the definition of the geometry and of its variation (both static and dynamic) during the phases of use of bridges, the Internet of things (IoT) for the management of data storage and transmission (especially in areas where there is no electricity), and, finally, new materials (in particular self-monitoring materials) all have important roles to play in the monitoring of bridges.

In order to establish the state of the art on evaluating the structural health of bridges and to identify new challenges for the near future, we invite the publication of research results in this Special Issue in each of the following fields: computational mechanics, geomatics, new materials (particularly self-monitoring ones), and the use of IoT technologies.

Prof. Dr. Raffaele Zinno
Dr. Serena Artese
Guest Editors

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