TY - GEN
T1 - Smart wireless tension force monitoring system for stay cables
AU - Cho, S.
AU - Yun, C. B.
AU - Lynch, J. P.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Tension force of a bridge cable is a structural parameter of interest for cable-stayed bridges in which the cable is a primary load carrying member. In this study, a smart wireless tension force estimation system is developed based on the local interrogation capabilities of wireless sensor platforms. The hardware is composed of a wireless sensing unit and a signal conditioning board made from off-the-shelf components coupled with a cost-effective commercial MEMS accelerometer. For local interrogation, a modern vibration method considering the bending rigidity and sagging condition of a cable is embedded into the microcontroller of the wireless sensing unit. In addition, an automated peak-picking algorithm and Welch's method are also embedded to accurately estimate the cable tension force using the natural frequencies of the cable. To validate the proposed system, a series of laboratory experiments on a scaled-down cable model has been conducted. In the laboratory experiments, a series of forced vibration tests are executed to investigate the performance of the system for various sensing locations, cable tension forces, and corresponding sagging conditions. In the tests, the proposed system's performance has been validated. Specifically, the system is capable of identifying the natural frequency and tension force of the cable with a high degree of accuracy. The system is currently being validated on full-scale cables on a long-span cable-stayed bridge in Korea.
AB - Tension force of a bridge cable is a structural parameter of interest for cable-stayed bridges in which the cable is a primary load carrying member. In this study, a smart wireless tension force estimation system is developed based on the local interrogation capabilities of wireless sensor platforms. The hardware is composed of a wireless sensing unit and a signal conditioning board made from off-the-shelf components coupled with a cost-effective commercial MEMS accelerometer. For local interrogation, a modern vibration method considering the bending rigidity and sagging condition of a cable is embedded into the microcontroller of the wireless sensing unit. In addition, an automated peak-picking algorithm and Welch's method are also embedded to accurately estimate the cable tension force using the natural frequencies of the cable. To validate the proposed system, a series of laboratory experiments on a scaled-down cable model has been conducted. In the laboratory experiments, a series of forced vibration tests are executed to investigate the performance of the system for various sensing locations, cable tension forces, and corresponding sagging conditions. In the tests, the proposed system's performance has been validated. Specifically, the system is capable of identifying the natural frequency and tension force of the cable with a high degree of accuracy. The system is currently being validated on full-scale cables on a long-span cable-stayed bridge in Korea.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856699445&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84856699445
SN - 9780415877862
T3 - Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management and Life-Cycle Optimization - Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management
SP - 165
EP - 172
BT - Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management and Life-Cycle Optimization - Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management
T2 - 5th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS 2010
Y2 - 11 July 2010 through 15 July 2010
ER -