EXPERIMENTAL MONITORING OF THE HUMBER BRIDGE USING GPS

The global positioning system (GPS), using navigational satellites, can now be used for the real-time monitoring of bridges and other large-scale engineering structures. This paper describes how the UK's Humber Bridge was monitored using 'kinematic GPS'. Remarkable accuracies, of the order of a few millimetres in each direction, as determined through a zero-baseline test, were obtained. They show that the kinematic GPS technique allows the collection of real-time deflection data, which could be used to determine the deformation characteristics of the bridge and eventually provide a structural failure alarm capability. To obtain real-time deformation results for the bridge deck, a GPS receiver was placed on the west side rail of the deck, at midspan. A static reference receiver was placed on top of the bridge's control tower, which had previously been positioned through static GPS processing. Charts show samples of longitudinal, vertical, and lateral movements of the bridge deck during two trials. Some problems were presented by the effect of the wind, when it caused a vibration of the pole linking the GPS antenna to the deck. To overcome these problems, future tests need to be planned and conducted more carefully.

• Corporate Authors:

  Thomas Telford Limited

  London,   United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • ASHKENZAI, V
  • Roberts, G W
• Conference:
  • PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: CIVIL ENGINEERING
• Publication Date: 1997-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 177-82
• Serial:
  • Volume: 120
  • Issue Number: 4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Artificial satellites; Bridges; Continuous structures; Data collection; Deflection; Failure; Global Positioning System; Methodology; Motion; Real time control; Real time data processing; Surveillance; Vibration; Warning systems
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 3455: Bridge; 9006: Continuous; 8623: Data acquisition; 5586: Deflection; 5520: Failure; 9126: Global positioning system; 9102: Method; 5483: Movement; 8679: Real time; 9125: Satellite; 9101: Surveillance; 8119: United Kingdom; 5558: Vibration; 9113: Warning
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00746254
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Mar 24 1998 12:00AM