Temporary Structural Health Monitoring of Historical Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Abstract

A temporary monitoring system was installed on the 175-year-old historical Széchenyi Chain Bridge during its reconstruction. The bridge is in the downtown area in the capital city of Hungary and plays a significant role in the city life of Budapest. Six-month-long measurements were conducted during the reconstruction process of the bridge, yielding crucial insights into the structural behaviour of the historical structure. The measurement results were evaluated; the findings encompass the rotation capacity of the pins between the chain elements and the structural response to temperature changes. This information helped the decision-making between 2021 and 2023 by the designers and construction company during the reconstruction. For instance, daily temperature fluctuations resulted in increased bending moments in the chain elements, rising up to 158% compared to the values observed during a proof load test in 2018. Furthermore, the measurements reveal an approximate 42% increase in normal forces compared to the proof load test, which highlights the high sensitivity of chain bridges to temperature fluctuations, where geometric stiffness plays a crucial role. Reconstruction, namely reducing self-weight, notably intensifies the impact on normal forces and bending moments. These outcomes strongly emphasize the dominance of the dead load and self-weight in the case of chain bridges.