<p>This report defines a present problem with U.S. bridges and suggests several reasons for
bridge infrastructure deterioration and degradation, such as traffic overload, expired life
cycles, environmental and operational conditions, and budget cuts. The most commonly
used nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods for determining the health of bridge
infrastructure are summarized and compared. Advantages and disadvantages of each
NDE technique are provided, and the lack of an adequate method which can quantitatively
monitor the structural integrity of bridges is noted.</p>
<p>This report then discusses the possibility of health monitoring sensor systems for the
quantitative NDE of bridge infrastructure. Several types of sensors that may be used to
collect paSSlve and quantitative data related to the structural integrity of bridges are evaluated, and the extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (EFPI) fiber optic
sensor is suggested as the preferred sensor.</p>
<p>The fabrication processes and operational principles of EFPIs are presented. Two case
studies which demonstrate the performance of EFPI sensors when used in health
monitoring sensor systems are provided. Finally, a design criteria checklist suggests
several questions that need to be asked (or more thoroughly defined) concerning the
usefulness, reliability, durability, and sensitivity of EFPI-based health monitoring sensor
systems.</p> / Master of Science
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/41865 |
| Date | 30 March 2010 |
| Creators | Garrett, Tracey Lynette |
| Contributors | Systems Engineering, Claus, Richard O., Blanchard, Benjamin S. Jr., Wang, Anbo |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master's project |
| Format | BTD, application/pdf |
| Relation | LD5655.V851_1995.G377.pdf |
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