| Author | Nonthachart Kulprapha |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.ST-12-01 |
| Subject(s) | Bridges, Concrete
|
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Structural Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. ST-12-01 |
| Abstract | The feasibility of structural health monitoring of multi-span prestressed concrete
bridges by using their ambient thermal responses is investigated. The study is done by
using a two-spanned continuous prestressed concrete bridge model constructed and
designed to have mechanical and thermal characteristics similar to typical full-size bridges.
The bridge is located in an open environment in order to attain a realistic ambient thermal
loading condition. Sensors are installed to continuously monitor temperatures, strains,
deflections, and supp01t reactions of the bridges. Five states of distributed flexural damage,
slight to severe, are induced to the bridge by applying two concentrated forces. At each
damage state and the initial undamaged state, thermal loads and responses of the bridge are
monitored continuously for several days. The responses are compared with those predicted
by a newly developed analytical model. This analytical model takes into account of
nonlinear temperature distribution in bridge cross sections, presence of prestressing forces,
support flexibility, and initial crookness of bridge span. An excellent agreement between
model predictions and measured responses is observed at the initial undamaged state.
Measured responses at each damage state are again compared with model predictions of
the undamaged state. It is found that the discrepancy between them increases with
increasing of damage level. A scheme to account for the induced damage is then developed
for the analytical model. By using this scheme, it is possible to tune the model predictions
to match with the measured responses. Through this model tuning process, approximate
damage distribution pattern and damage severity along the bridge length can be identified.
The study clearly demonstrates that an effective structural health monitoring system based
on ambient thermal loads and responses can be successfully developed for multi-span
prestressed concrete bridges. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. ST-12-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Structural Engineering (STE) /Former Name = Structural Engineering and Construction (ST) |
| Chairperson(s) | Pennung Warnitchai; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Noppadol Phien-wej ;Punchet Thammarak ;Yun, Chung-Bang ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology
(Partial Scholarship); |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |