Aerial view of Maintalbrücke Gemünden
Source: BAM, Buildings and Structures Division
Developed countries own a large stock of aging infrastructures that must be maintained with fewer and fewer skilled workers while the demands increase and their materials age. Various digital technologies are currently being researched and developed to support infrastructure owners in this task. It remains to be seen how the technologies can be linked together in the most targeted way possible. In the BMBF-funded project “Bewertung alternder Infrastrukturbauwerke mit digitalen Technologien” (AISTEC), researchers of Division 7.2 Buildings and Structures, Department 7 Safety of Structures, of BAM investigated together with partners from Bauhaus University Weimar (BUW), the engineering firm Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner and Deutsche Bahn how digital technologies can be used as part of an overall concept for structural health monitoring and inspection.
At the Maintalbrücke Gemünden, BAM`s researchers planned and implemented a permanent sensor-based monitoring system and the partners at BUW carried out surveys using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) equipped with cameras. In each case, the resulting data was linked to digital building models. The initial UAS survey created a geometry model that is used for overview, further flight route planning, and the creation of a simulation model. A structural model was calibrated using data from the sensor-based continuous monitoring. In addition, this data can serve as the basis for on-line anomaly detection. In the event of an anomaly which can be interpreted as indicator of potential damage, both UAS special inspections and advanced diagnostics using diagnostic load tests can be triggered. During the project, diagnostic load tests were used to validate the calibrated structural model rather than to diagnose damage.
The application of different digital technogies to a structure highlighted the potential of each technology. Image-based UAS inspections provide information with a high resolution in space at individual flyover times and complement well with sensor-based continuous monitoring, which provides information with a high resolution in time. Next steps in the research will be the deeper integration of the different technologies to better support the management of aging infrastructure structures.
Simon, P.; Helmrich, M.; Herrmann, R.; Schneider, R.; Baeßler, M.; Lorelli, S.; Morgenthal, G. (2022) Maintalbrücke Gemünden: Bauwerksmonitoring und -identifikation aus einem Guss. Bautechnik 99, H. 3, S. 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/bate.202100102
BAM Department Safety of Structures
BAM Division Buildings and Structures,