Resensys Wireless Monitoring System Deployed on Joppa Road, Maryland

In July 2015, on a gorgeous morning of early summer, a Resensys structural health monitoring system was deployed on a bridge on Joppa Road, MD. The system consists of tilt and strain SenSpot sensors. The main purpose of the installation is to monitor the operations of the bridge bearings as well as the amount of stress in the bridge’s flanges. Resensys systems provide an environment-friendly solution for 24/7 monitoring of tilt, movement, thermal expansion and contraction response, strain and detecting bearing malfunction, sagging and deformation. Resensys SenSpot sensors are small, adhesive mount, wireless and ultra power efficient with minimum 10 years of guaranteed battery life. Installation of each SenSpot sensor takes no more than 5 minutes with minimal workforce requirements. Resensys state of the art data analysis tools provides smart detection of structural anomaly and will immediately notify maintenance teams for required actions.

Strain Senspot sensors readout will immediately indicate excessive strain on critical points of the bridge flanges that may result in deformation. In particular, structural elements which undergo cyclic strain due to thermal expansion and contraction may experience fatigue cracks, which decreases their strength and resistance.

Due to their small size and light weight, SenSpots allow self adhesive-mounting. Using their self- adhesive mounting mechanism, each SenSpot sensor can be installed in 1-2 minutes without any need for drilling or complex mounting procedure.

When operating correctly, bearings must rotate as expected to accommodate the thermal expansion of the bridge deck. The actual tilt of bearings measured by Resensys tilt SenSpot sensors will be compared with the expected bridge deck expansion ase a result of temperature variations read by SenSpot sensors attached to the flanges.