Resensys continoius strain monitoring SenSpot sensors for load-rating of Route 12 bridge over Mill Brooke, Connecticut

On the warm early fall morning of the 22^nd of September, 2015, a team of AI Engineers were deployed along with the Resensys team by the Connecticut Department of Transportation to install multiple SenSpot high rate strain sensors on the nearly century-old bridge on Route 12 running over Mill Brook in Plainfield, Connecticut. The instillation was to test the level of strain the steel girders undergo throughout daily use. This was accomplished by having a truck with a known weight surpassing the bridge’s recorded load-rating limit drive across with multiple driving patterns. In approximately 2 hours, a total of 11 wireless high-rate strain SenSpot sensors and one SeniMax data logger and remote communication gateway were installed as the Resensys structural health monitoring system to record the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instillation took approximately 2 hours to complete and required a very small task-force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The underside of the bridge shows heavy oxidation from nearly a century of weathering.

 

The first step was to install the high-rate strain SenSpot sensors along the steel girders of the bridge. The instillation was simple and took approximately 2 hours. These sensors easily and efficiently monitor differences in the levels of strain the girders of a bridge undergo throughout daily use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 Resensys high-rate strain SenSpot sensor monitor the strain of girders throughout the daily use of the bridge.

 

The next step was to record the results as a truck with a weight of approximately 35 tons drove over multiple times with multiple driving patterns. The Resensys team recorded data of multiple trials as the truck drove north and south bound, drove closer to the edge of the bridge, and as the truck drove closer to the center of the bridge. Here is a video of one of the trials.

 

All information is sent instantaneously to the Resensys data log. With their light weight, the sensors are installed very quickly without much effort using the adhesiveness on the back of the sensor. The sensors are weather-proof and last a minimum of 10 years on one battery. The SeniMax data logger is also very power-efficient. They recharge using solar power and each charge guarantees at least 4 weeks of usage. This allows Resensys to reliably monitor the data recorded by the sensors with minimal upkeep.  Less than 5 hours later, the job was finished and this early 20^th century bridge will continue to be monitored by the Resensys team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SeniMax data logger and remote communication gateway solar charger ensures no down-time on the data logger throughout its lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SeniMax data logger and communication gateway sends the high-rate SenSpot stress sensor data to the Resensys database for continuous monitoring.