Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges

Dewesoft data acquisition systems are used in structural health and seismic bridge monitoring projects ranging from structural mechanics to continuous monitoring of large, complex structures. The systems provide distributed, high-channel-count and remote monitoring for highway overpasses, roads, buildings, and bridges.

IEPE

Strain / Stress

Full Bridge

Half Bridge

Quarter Bridge

Voltage

Force

Video

EtherCAT

Fanless

Temperature

IP67

Main Features

DISTRIBUTED: Dewesoft devices are designed to be distributed under any condition. EtherCAT technology allows devices to be placed near the sensors and connected with a single cable for power, data, and synchronization. The cable can span up to 100m between DAQ nodes or virtually unlimited using EtherCAT to fiber optic converters. We have instrumented world longest bridge - Hong Kong - Macao, spanning over 50 kilometers.
ANY SENSOR: input amplifiers offer support for any strain gage sensor, low-frequency accelerometer sensors for seismic activity monitoring, temperature and weather factors.
PERFECTLY SYNCHRONIZED: All data channels are synchronized well below microsecond accuracy, required for deep structural analysis.
AMAZING DYNAMIC RANGE: With dynamic ranges up to 160dB, our customers are claiming they can see fish hitting the structure.
WIDE VARIETY OF CONFIGURATIONS: From extremely rugged IP67 units with very high dynamic range to cost-effective solutions offer a tailored approach for virtually any structure with the possibility to monitor and analyze thousands of data points.
POWERFUL SOFTWARE: Dewesoft X software offers real-time diagnosis, pre-processing and data reduction with powerful math. A wide variety of storage options are possible with powerful visualization choices.
OPEN INTERFACES: Using Dewesoft X3, data is available in wide variety formats, from exported data to live OPC UA interface or modern cloud data services.
REMOTE OPERATION: the entire system can be remotely operated offering triggered storing, alarms and other monitoring features with capabilities to store data locally or at the distant remote locations.
LIFETIME FREE SOFTWARE UPGRADES: Our data acquisition comes bundled with award-winning Dewesoft X data acquisition software. The software package is always evolving and new features being added. We offer lifetime free software upgrades to all our users.

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Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge Monitoring

The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB), officially the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge-tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest fixed link on earth. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. With a total length of 55 km, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is regarded as the longest sea bridge in the world.

One part of this monument’s structural health monitoring system is the measurement of tri-axial accelerometers at the navigation spans. The purpose is to detect the occurrence of the ship impacting as well as to determine the global dynamic characteristics of the structure’s viaduct bridges.

200 highest precision acceleration channels are needed, distributed over several kilometers. These channels are clustered into six independent data acquisition subsystems. The data of each subsystem are stored locally and in parallel to a database engine running on a central server.

See the complete case study.

Vibration Analyzer for Tuned Mass Damper

Structures such as bridges, skyscrapers, staircases, stacks, and antennas can all be excited to high levels of vibration by wind, earthquakes, nearby machines, or traffic. Low natural frequencies and low natural damping are typical of such structures. The use of GERB Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) Systems can significantly reduce these vibrations.

Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) Systems limit the displacements of structures by absorbing and dissipating vibrational energy. Generally, they are passive systems and consist of vibration masses, springs or pendulums and visco-dampers. Each device is custom designed for its respective application.

Modal Analysis Possibilities

Dewesoft provides an efficient solution for the modal test, time for setup and measurement is very short. Import or draw the geometry, perform the measurement and animate the structure.

Features

Multireference Modal Test
Autofill for Fast Input and Setup
Auto-generated Screens
Geometry Animation and Projection
Merge Several Data Files
Operating Deflection Shapes (ODS)
Easy Data Export into standard file formats
Advanced Modal Analysis
OMA - Operational Modal Analysis

Learn more on the Modal Analysis application page.

Rugged and Distributed Data Acquisition

Dewesoft provides very rugged data acquisition units that can work flawlessly in a wide temperature range, under big stress and even in very humid and wet environments.

Data acquisition units can easily be distributed so you can place them close to the sensor placed on the structure. This means shorter sensor cabling which increases signal quality, decreases chances of cabling errors and cabling cost. DAQ systems can be distributed down to single channel.

EtherCAT protocol provides a connection with up to 100 meters between DAQ nodes. Single power is used for data, power, and synchronization. This can be further expanded using EtherCAT to Fiber Optic converters.

Remote Data Monitoring and Storage

Dewesoft X software offers easy and flexible configurations for your data flow. You can store data locally near the structure itself, or use any of the standard interfaces like OPC UA to send and store data remotely in the cloud or database. There is really no restriction on how to set up your data flow.

Our flexible licensing allows you to connect an unlimited number of view clients to monitor data in real-time without any additional cost.

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