A Framework for Condition Survey and Structural Health Monitoring of Masonry Arch Bridges

Abstract

Masonry arch bridges are essential elements of the road and railway networks of Europe, as they pertain to cultural heritage and play an important role in transportation. The integrity and safety of these centuries-old structures must be ensured. Therefore, there is great interest in understanding the behavior of masonry arch bridges and monitoring their health. Efficient methods for assessing the condition of structures, including inspections and monitoring, constitute a fundamental element of structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. Given the multitude of surveying techniques available, it becomes crucial to establish cost-effective sensor placement strategies capable of detecting structural failures. These strategies can involve identifying particularly sensitive areas, optimizing the number of sensors used, as well as refining the number and duration of monitoring setups, among other considerations. As part of the PONT3 project, which aims to develop a comprehensive and cost-effective approach to anticipate failure propagation in ageing bridges, this research focusses on developing interoperability-driven inspection and monitoring strategies to provide data that will allow anticipating the evolution of possible failure scenarios. In this regard, an extensive summary of the key characteristics of inspection and monitoring technologies, and typical system configurations in existing literature for masonry arch bridges will be provided. Then, the measurable physical parameters of interest for a specific failure propagation scenario will be identified using numerical simulations and applicable monitoring techniques for each of the physical parameters will be determined. Monitoring requirements in terms of measurement locations, accuracy, range, and temporal resolution will also be identified. The recommendations for interoperability-driven data collection to exchange and employ acquired information for the purpose of structural diagnosis will conclude the framework. The study will finally discuss a future outlook on the development of integrated SHM-oriented digital twins.