|
WPC installed state-of-the-art instrumentation to monitor bridge movements during the repair operations of Bridge 91 over the Yadkin River. The bridge was closed to traffic due to significant settlement of a bridge pier which shifted the decking, causing gaps in the bridge structure. Instrumentation selected to monitor bridge movement included the Vibrating Wire Displacement Transducer (VWDT); the Electrolytic Level Tiltmeter (EL Tiltmeter); and the Optical Survey Prism (OP). WPC, in conjunction with Canary Systems, developed a solar powered monitoring program for the MultiLogger Data Acquisition System using its associated MultiLogger software to provide convenient, remote monitoring, and downloading of data via a laptop computer and cell phone.
This state-of-the-art monitoring program was designed to facilitate instantaneous data review as well as a reduction of structural movements by linking the equipment together through cell phones and solar panels. The selection of solar panels for power and cell phone technology for data transfer allowed for economical monitoring and data reduction. This technology also enabled a possibly complex logistic issue to become a data management solution. Providing cell phone communication facilitated convenient, remote downloading of the monitoring data. A portable laptop computer connection allowed personnel to graphically monitor instrumentation readings directly from the MultiLogger Data Acquisition System in real time. This direct connection also allowed for simultaneous changes in the monitoring frequency if changes in the repair operations occurred.
|
