Download or read book Field Monitoring of Scour Critical Bridges written by Xiong Yu and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scour is a major threat to the safety of bridges. Instruments for the measurement and monitoring of bridge scour are necessary to study scour processes and to support bridge management. The lack of robust and economical scour monitoring devices prevents the implementation of a bridge scour monitoring program among bridge owners. This project explores the design and analyses of scour sensors using principles of Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The performance of a scour probe was first tested in laboratory simulated scour experiments. Three different signal analyses methods were developed to obtain the scour depth from TDR signals. Besides scour depth, additional information related to scour assessment, i.e. sediment density and electrical conductivity of water, were also determined from TDR signals. The sensing principles and analysis algorithms were validated from simulated scour tests under various conditions which are expected to be encountered in the field. The field conditions considered included: variation of sediment types, water conductivity, turbidity, air entrapment, and water elevation. These further validated the robustness of the scour sensing principles. Upon validation, a field worthy sensor was designed. The sampling area and effective measured dielectric constant were determined using a finite element analysis method. Evaluation of the sensor indicated that it was able to successfully monitor the scour processes (scour and refill) in real-time with high accuracy. Six TDR bridge scour sensors were installed at BUT-122-0606 bridge on SR 122 over the Great Miami River in Butler County, with assistance of project partners GRL Engineers Inc., and J&L Laboratories. Automatic monitoring units were installed to automatically take scour sensor signals and wirelessly transmit the sensor data. The sensors were installed using routine geotechnical site investigation tools and procedures. High quality signals were obtained, from which the development of scour adjacent to bridge piers was measured. The results are reasonable. The pilot study points to the promise of this new technology for long term bridge scour monitoring purposes. Continued evaluation and refinement of this new scour monitoring sensor system is highly recommended.