Deformation monitoring of a simply supported railway bridge under varying dynamic loads

Abstract

Structural health monitoring is a useful tool for evaluating the condition of bridges, with permanent systems installed on bridges which form vital links on the major transport network. The economic cost of the monitoring systems limits their installation on smaller bridges which make up the wider transport network. A short-term monitoring system can be quickly installed and adjusted to suit the requirements of individual bridges. These systems are ideal for rural regions with a high number of single span bridges on isolated road and rail networks. This report will review a single span bridge on a private heritage railway under loading from passing steam engines, including the Flying Scotsman. Acceleration data are used to determine the rotations and deflections of the bridge deck. To verify the data, deflection measurements at mid-span were recorded using a video-based measurement system. The deflection measurements from the accelerometers correlate with the video imagery measurements.