Wireless sensor performance monitoring of an innovative bridge design in New York State

With many of today's bridge superstructures deteriorating at such a rapid rate, there is a need to develop new structures that can last longer and stand up to the effects of both greater loading and harsh environmental conditions. As innovative materials continue to find their way into civil engineering design, monitoring their performance is of utmost importance. Discussed in this paper is the deployment of a custom designed wireless sensor system on an innovative bridge superstructure in New York State. The structure utilizes glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bridge deck panels as a replacement to a deteriorated steel grated bridge deck. The wireless system provides independent conditioning of acceleration, strain and temperature measurements with high rate, real-time lossless transmission capabilities. These measurements serve to provide static and dynamic load testing parameters and modal characteristics of the superstructure under both ambient excitation and service loads.