Speaker
Description
Ensuring the structural integrity of bridges is vital for infrastructure safety and long-term sustainability. Indirect Structural Health Monitoring (ISHM), particularly through drive-by bridge inspection, has emerged as a promising and cost-effective alternative to conventional monitoring approaches. By leveraging sensors mounted on moving vehicles, ISHM enables the condition assessment of bridges without the need for direct instrumentation, offering scalability and reduced operational disruption. Despite its potential, the practical implementation of ISHM in real-world environments remains challenging, especially in reliably detecting structural damage under varying operational and environmental conditions. This paper presents the first study on the development and field validation of a fully customised sensing vehicle designed specifically for ISHM applications. The vehicle, equipped with high-resolution accelerometers and integrated automation features, autonomously traverses bridge structures while recording dynamic response data. Two large-scale bridges located in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, were selected as test beds for this investigation. The captured acceleration signals were subsequently analysed using two robust signal processing and classification frameworks to assess the system’s performance in detecting anomalies while minimising false positives and false negatives. The field results demonstrate the practical feasibility and reliability of the proposed drive-by inspection approach. This study provides critical insights into the application of ISHM under real-world conditions and highlights its potential to serve as a scalable, non-intrusive monitoring solution. The findings contribute to the advancement of next-generation structural health monitoring systems, supporting enhanced infrastructure safety, informed maintenance planning, and the extended service life of critical bridge assets.
