IBIS-S

STATIC AND DYNAMIC BRIDGE MONITORING BY RADAR

IMAGING OF BRIDGE DISPLACEMENTS AND VIBRATIONS
ImagIng By InterferometrIc Survey
Olson Engineering worked in close cooperation with the University
of Minnesota to demonstrate the IBIS-S technology on the Minnesota
DOTs St. Anthony Falls Bridge on I-35W in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Comparisons will be made in the near future of controlled load test
results between the many embedded sensors in this bridge and
the IBIS-S displacement measurements of the southbound bridge.
(in the foreground above).
Olson Engineering provided a demonstration of the IBIS-S on a
girder of a bridge in northern New Jersey that is being studied
as part of the FHWAs Long Term Bridge Performance Monitoring
project which is being conducted by Rutgers University and
Parsons Brinckerhoff. The results of controlled load tests by Drexel
University with string potentiometer displacement measurements
and the IBIS-S displacement measurements of the bridge girder will
be compared in the near future as part of this research.
FHWAs Long Term Bridge Performance Monitoring Project
St. Anthony Falls Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Recent Olson Engineering IBIS-S Projects
3
IBIS-S is an innovative microwave radar sensor,
developed by IDS Georadar of Pisa, Italy in collaboration
with the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications
of Florence University. It is able to simultaneously measure
the displacement response of multiple points belonging to
a structure with an accuracy on the order of a hundredth
of a millimeter (0.0004 inch). Vibration frequencies can be
measured from 0 up to a maximum of 100 Hz.
IBIS-S can be used to remotely measure structural static
deections as well as vibration displacements to identify
resonant frequencies and mode shapes. In addition to its non-
contact feature, the new displacement vibration measuring
system provides other advantages including quick set-up time
and a wide frequency range of response and portability.
Throughout this brochure, Olson is highlighting various case histories on IBIS-S projects performed
by IDS exclusively, by Olson Engineering exclusively, and those projects performed jointly for various
demonstrations within the USA. Geotechnical engineers may also be interested in the IBIS-L for landslide/
slope stability monitoring. Visit our website at www.OlsonInstruments.com to learn more about our
infrastructure instruments for structural health monitoring (SHM), nondestructive evaluation (NDE)
and seismic geophyical instruments for sale, or visit www.OlsonEngineering.com which specializes in
Imaging the Infrastructure for Assessment, Monitoring & Repair. Training is available by one of our
Olson Engineering specialists. Olson is celebrating over 26 years in business and would like to be your
bridge infrastructure specialist for any project, now or in the future. We are located in Wheat Ridge,
Colorado USA a suburb NW of downtown Denver, CO.
If you are interested in purchasing an IBIS-S System or any of our other instruments, contact:
email: info@OlsonInstruments.com
website: www.OlsonInstruments.com
phone: 303.423.1212
If you are interested in Olsons Professional Consulting Services, contact:
email: info@OlsonEngineering.com
website: www.OlsonEngineering.com
phone: 303.423.1212
Table of Contents IBIS-S Case Histories Imaging by Interferometric Survey IBIS-S
1
4
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IBIS-S Components
The IBIS-S system is based on interferometric and wide band
waveform principles. It is composed of a sensor module, a control
PC and a 12 volt power supply unit. The sensor module [A] is a
coherent radar unit, generating, transmitting and receiving the
electromagnetic signals to be processed in order to compute the
displacement time-histories of measurement points. The system
has a maximum operational distance (for minimum 40Hz vibration
sampling frequency) of 500 m (1640 ft), a maximum sampling
frequency of 200 Hz, (permits measuring vibration frequencies up
to 100 Hz) and a displacement sensitivity of up to 0.01 mm (0.0004
in). It can measure static displacements up to a distance of 1000m
(3280 ft). The IBIS-S system is extremely portable with the entire
system weighing less than 100 lbs. The system can easily be rapidly
deployed and can be operated in all weather conditions.
The sensor module, including two airhorn antennas [A] for
transmission and reception of the 17.1 MHz electromagnetic
waves, exhibit a typical super heterodyne architecture. The base-
band section consists of a Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) device to
obtain fast frequency hopping. A tuneable sine wave is generated
through a high-speed D/A converter, reading a sine lookup table in
response to digital tuning and a precision clock source. The radio-
frequency section radiates at a center frequency of 17.2 GHz with
a maximum bandwidth of 200 MHz; hence, the radar is classied
as Ku-band, according to the standard radar-frequency letter-band
nomenclature from IEEE Standard 521-1984. The system was fully
approved for use at any site across the USA and its territories in
February, 2011 with the operator of the system only requiring a
general FCC license for its use. A nal calibration section in the
module provides the necessary phase stability. Design specications
on phase uncertainty are suitable for measuring short-term
displacements with a range uncertainty lower than 0.01 mm (0.0004
in) and an intrinsic accuracy of 0.001 mm (0.00004 inches). The
sensor module is installed on a tripod equipped with a rotating head
[C], allowing the sensor to be orientated in the desired direction.
The module has a USB interface for connection with the control PC
[B] and an interface for the power supply module.

The control PC (Panasonic Toughbook CF-19) includes the software
for system management and is used to congure the acquisition
parameters, store the acquired signals, process the data and view
the initial results in real time. The system can be powered by any
12 volt battery.
INTRODUCTION
Imaging by Interferometric Survey [IBIS-S] Basic Description
[A] Sensor Unit:
Signal Transmitter and Receiver
Viewnder
Airhorn Antenna
- Additional antennas for narrow to wide
views and vertical to horizontal
[B] Processing Unit:
Control PC with Management Software
Parameter Setting:
- Signal Generator
- Signal Acquisition
First Result Rendering
[C] Tripod and 3-D Rotating Head
[D] Power Supply Unit (not shown)
[A]
[B]
[C]
Airhorn Antenna
2
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5
Imaging by Interferometric Survey [IBIS-S] Basic Description
INTRODUCTION
IBIS-S Basic Principles
Generally speaking, the IBIS-S sensor module continuously emits
from one airhorn and receives in the other airhorn antenna a series of
discrete electromagnetic waves for the entire measurement period,
and processes phase information at regular time intervals (up to 5
milliseconds, ms) in order to identify any displacement occurring
between one emission and the next. The interferometric technique
provides a measurement of the line-of-sight displacement of all
the reectors on the structure illuminated by the antenna beam
simultaneously that are more than 0.75 m (2.46 ft) apart. Once
the line-of-sight or radial displacement d
p
has been evaluated,
the vertical displacement d can be easily calculated by employing
a geometric projection, as shown in diagram below (Fig.2).
The ability to determine range (i.e. distance) by measuring
the time for the radar signal to propagate to the target and back
is the distinguishing and most important characteristic of the
radar system. Two or more targets, illuminated by the radar, are
individually detectable if they produce different echoes. The
range resolution is a measure of the minimum distance between
two targets at which they can still be detected individually. The
bin range resolution refers to the minimum separation that can
be detected along the radars line of sight and thus the ability to
distinguish different targets at different distances away from the
unit which is 0.75 m (2.46 ft). This capability is obtained by using
the Stepped-Frequency Continuous Wave (SF-CW) technique.
Pulse radars use short time duration pulses to obtain high range
resolution. For a pulse radar, the range resolution, r, is related to
the pulse duration by the following (1):
(1)
where c is the speed of light in free space. Since = 1/B (the
bandwidth in this case is 200 MHz), the range resolution (1) may
be expressed as:
(2)
Eq. (2) highlights that range resolution increases (corresponding to
a smaller numerical value of r) as the frequency bandwidth of the
transmitted electromagnetic wave increases; hence, closely spaced
targets can be detected along the radars line of sight. The SF-CW
technique exploits the above concept to provide the IBIS-S sensor
with excellent range resolution capability of 0.75 m (2.46 ft).
The SF-CW technique is based on the transmission of a burst of
N monochromatic pulses, equally and incrementally spaced in
frequency (with xed frequency step of f), within a bandwidth B:
f N B = ) 1 (

The N monochromatic pulses sample the scenario in the frequency
domain similarly to a short pulse with a large bandwidth B. In a
SF-CW radar, the signal source dwells at each frequency fk = fo +
kf (k=0,1,2, , N1) long enough to allows the received echoes
to reach the receiver. Hence, the duration of each single pulse
(T
pulse
) depends on the maximum distance (R
max
) to be observed in
the scenario:
c
R
T
max
pulse
2

In the IBIS-S sensor, the SF-CW radar sweeps a large bandwidth
B with a burst of N single tones at uniform frequency step, in order
to obtain a range resolution of 0.75m (2.46 ft); in other words,
two targets can still be detected individually by the sensor if
their relative distance is greater than 0.75 m (2.46 ft). The range
resolution area is termed range bin. The radar continuously scans
the bandwidth at a sampling rate ranging up to 200 Hz, so that the
corresponding sweep time t of 5 ms is in principle, well suited to
provide excellent waveform denition of the displacement response
of typical civil structures.
At each sampled time instant, both in-phase and quadrature
components of the received signals are acquired so that the resulting
data consists of a vector of N complex samples, representing the
frequency response measured at N discrete frequencies. By taking
the Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) the response is
reconstructed in the time domain of the radar: each complex
sample in this domain represents the signal (echo) from a range
(distance) interval of length cT
pulse
/2.
The amplitude range prole of the radar echoes is then obtained
by calculating the magnitude of each bin of the IDFT of acquired
vector samples. This range prole gives a one dimensional map of
scattering objects in the viewable space in function of their relative
distance from the equipment. The concept of range prole is better
illustrated in Figure 3, showing an ideal range prole obtained when
the radar transmitting beam illuminates a series of targets at different
distances and different angles from the system. The peaks in the
lower plot of Figure 3 correspond to good measurement points and
the sensor can be used to simultaneously detect the displacement
and the transient response of these points. These reective points
could be either given by the natural reectivity of features belonging
to the structure or by some simple passive metallic reectors
mounted to it. Once the image of the scenario illuminated by the
radar beam has been determined at uniform sampling intervals
t, the direct line-of-sight displacement response of each target
detected in the scenario is evaluated by using the Differential
Interferometric technique (see eq. 5, page 6). This technique is
based on the comparison of the phase information of the back-
scattered electromagnetic waves collected at different times.
2
c
r =
B
c
r
2
=
r
h
d
d
p

r
h
d
d
p

Figure 2. Radial displacement vs. projected vertical displacement.
(3)
(4)
6
Imaging by Interferometric Survey [IBIS-S] Basic Description
3
INTRODUCTION

Figure 3. Range bin resolution concept diagram, 0.75 m per bin.
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When a target surface moves with respect to the sensor module
(emitting and back-receiving the electromagnetic wave), a phase
shift arises between the signals reected by the target surface at
different times. Hence, the displacement of the investigated object
is determined from the phase shift measured by the radar sensor at
the different discrete acquisition times. The radial displacement d
p

(i.e. the displacement along the direction of wave propagation) and
the phase shift are linked by the following:
(5)
where is the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave radar signal.
Monitoring Applications of the IBIS-S Radar System
Static Monitoring: Dynamic Monitoring:
Structural Load Testing Structural resonance frequency measurement
Structural displacement and collapse hazards Structural modal shape analysis
Cultural heritage preservation Real time monitoring of deformation
Advantages over Traditional Methods
Radar for interferometric imaging of bridge displacements in load tests up to an accuracy of
0.0004" with modal vibration measurements and analysis (0 to 100 Hz)
Real-time simultaneous mapping of deformations
Fast installation and operation
Stactic and dynamic monitoring
Structural vibration sampling up to 100 Hz
Autonomous operation; 24/7 in all weather conditions!
Provides direct line of sight displacements, not derived quantities, in one dimension
7
Table of Contents IBIS-S Case Histories
Type of Structure: Test for: Page
A.Bridges
A1. Olginate Cable-stayed Bridge [Italy] Vibration Monitoring of Stay Cables for Tension Force Balancing 8-9
A2. Bordolano Cable-stayed Bridge [Italy] Dynamic Measurements on the Forestays of a Cable-stayed Bridge 10-11
A3. Highway Flyover Bridge, CO [USA] Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Concrete Bridge 12-13
A4. Manhattan Bridge, NY [USA] Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Steel Bridge 14-15
A5. Capriate Bridge [Italy] Ambient Vibration Testing for Modal Analysis 16-17
A6. Kuranda Scenic Railway Bridge [AU] Dynamic Monitoring of Vertical Displacements Caused by a Train 18-19
Flag Legend: Case Histories performed by IDS Georadar, Pisa, Italy
Case Histories performed by Olson Engineering, Inc. [USA] and IDS Georadar
CASE HISTORY
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8
Figure 2. IBIS-S position in the survey for the
downstream surveys.
Testing Procedure
Figure 1. (a) Elevation and typical cross-sections of the bridge (dimensions in m).
(b) First array; testing on the downstream side.
Vibration Monitoring of Stay Cables for Tension Force Balancing
Project: Cesare Cant cable-stayed roadway bridge
Project Location: Roadway bridge crossing the Adda River, Italy
Bridge Construction: Pre-stressed concrete deck, formed by a central
span of 110 m and two lateral spans of 55 m. The deck is suspended from 24
pairs of cable-stays, arranged in a semi-fan and connected to two H-shaped
reinforced concrete towers, reaching the height of approximately 38 m above
the foundation. Elevation and plan views are shown in Figure 1.
Project Scope: The measurement of vibrations on one array of stay-
cables was performed by simultaneously using conventional piezoelectric
accelerometers and the IBIS-S radar sensor, in order to demonstrate the
effectiveness of microwave remote sensing and its accuracy in terms of
both natural frequencies and cable tension forces.
After the main phase of cable tensioning, vibration measurements
were carried out on all cables of the bridge by using conventional
accelorometers (WR, model 731A) to check the tension forces. In
addition, the global dynamic characteristics of the bridge were
determined by ambient vibration testing (AVT), in order to optimize
the subsequent phase of adjustment of cable forces. Prior to opening
the bridge to traffic, more extensive AVT of the deck and towers
were carried out as part of the bridge reception tests. Next, dynamic
measurements on two arrays of cables were carried out by
simultaneously using piezoelectric accelerometers and the IBIS-S
radar system in order to verify the reliability and accuracy of the
radar technique.
During the tests, the ambient excitation was mainly provided by two
2-axle trucks with 340 kN gross weight each, crossing the bridge
with symmetric and eccentric passages and speeds in the range of
10-40 km/hr. In the test of the first array, cables S'
07
- S'
12
(Fig.1b),
the IBIS-S was placed at the base of the tower on the Calolziocorte
side (Fig.2) and inclined at 55 upward; accelerometer and radar
data were acquired simultaneously at a rate of 200 Hz over a period
of 1700 s. The range profile of the test scenario is presented in Fig. 3;
it is observed that after some close and neighboring peaks around the
range of 10 m, corresponding to the concrete transverse beam
providing the anchorage for cable S'
07,
five well-defined peaks clearly
identify the positions of cables S'
08
- S'
12
.
Aerial view of the Cesare Cant cable-stayed bridge
Array 1
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A
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a
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A1
9
A1
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Figure 3. Range profle of the test scenario.
Vibration Monitoring of Stay Cables for Tension Force Balancing
The analysis of the results obtained by the radar sensor rst included
the qualitative inspection of the deection measurements. Figure 4a
shows an example of displacement time-history measured on the
investigated stay-cable S'
12
; it should be noted that, as it has to be
expected for a stay-cable, the fundamental period is clearly detected
in the displacement signal. Although radar and conventional
measurements refer to different points of the cable (Fig. 1b), the
comparison between the time-histories simultaneously recorded by
the two measurement systems provides valuable information. An
example comparison is given in Figure 4b, where the acceleration
computed by twice differentiating the displacement obtained from
the radar is compared to the one simultaneously recorded by the
accelerometer. It can be observed that the two time series, which
refer to two different points almost symmetrically placed with
respect to the midpoint of the stay-cable, exhibit the same time
evolution and very similar amplitudes. To further enhance this point,
Figure 4b is superimposed over Figure 4a, showing the near perfect
similarity between the IBIS-S and the accelerometer data.
Although the ASDs of Figure 5 are associated with different mechanical
quantities measured (displacement and acceleration) and to
different points of the stay cable, the spectral plots clearly
highlight an excellent agreement in terms of local natural
frequencies of the cable, marked with the vertical dashed lines,
and are characterized by equally spaced and well-dened peaks
in the investigated frequency range. Global natural frequencies
of the bridge-identied in the bridge dynamic survey and
corresponding to peaks of the ASDs placed at 0.76, 1.25, 1.66, 1.90
and 2.78 Hzare also apparent in Figure 5 which also shows
that a linear correlation exists between the mode order n and the
corresponding natural frequency fn of stay cable S
12
. Hence, the
tension force T can be obtained from natural frequencies and cable
properties. The application of the taut string tension force equation,
T(f
n
) = 4rL
2
(f
n
/n)
2
to the cable S
12
resonant frequency results
(cable length L = 57.24 m, cable weight/m r = 36.51 kg/m and
resonant modes 1-5) is summarized in Table 1. The estimates
of cable tension obtained from resonant frequencies of the
accelerometer and radar sensor are virtually equal. A tension force
of 2694 kN was measured by a load cell which compares very well
with the average force of 2689 kN for the IBIS-S.
Figure 4. (a) Typical displacement time-history (blue) by the IBIS-S
on cable S'
12
with (b) typical acceleration data overlaid on top (red).
a
b
Figure 5. Auto-spectrum displacement data comparison of the IBIS-S
radar (orange) and accelerometers (blue)on cable S'
12

SENSOR
T(f
1
)
(kN)
T(f
1
)
(kN)
T(f
1
)
(kN)
T(f
1
)
(kN)
T(f
1
)
(kN)
Average
Accelerometer 2679 2707 2660 2693 2690 2686
IBIS-S Radar 2679 2707 2679 2693 2690 2689
Table 1. Tensions in cable S'
12
obtained from accelerometer and IBIS-S radar measurements.
Test Results
CASE HISTORY
CASE HISTORY
Figure 2. IBIS-S position in the survey for the
downstream surveys.
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10
A2
Testing Procedure
Microwave remote sensing was used to perform dynamic
measurements on the arrays of forestays supporting the deck of
the cable-stayed bridge crossing the river Oglio between the towns
of Bordolano and Quinzano (Fig.1), about 70 km far from Milan,
Italy. The dynamic characteristics of the bridge were well-known
since ambient vibration tests were carried out in Spring 2004 by the
Vibration Laboratory of LAquila University using Sprengnether
servo-accelerometers. During this test, 10 global modes of the
bridge were identied in the frequency range 010 Hz and also the
dynamic response of one cable (S
2U
in Fig.1) has been recorded.
The deection response of the two arrays of cables to wind and
trafc excitation was quickly and safely acquired by positioning
the IBIS-S at the base of the upstream-side and downstream-side
tower, respectively (Fig.2). Since the test scenario on the two sides
was practically the same, the radar image proles are very similar
and each range prole exhibits three well dened peaks, occurring
at the expected distance from the sensor (Fig.3) and clearly
identifying the position in range of the cables.
Dynamic Measurements on the Forestays of a Cable-stayed Bridge
Figure 1. Stay-cable comparison of the auto spectrum displacement data for the IBIS-S
radar and accelerometer.
Figure 3. Range profle data of the test scenario of the downstream side.
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
5

1
5

Project: Bordolano cable-stayed bridge

Project Location: Bridge over the Oglio River, Italy
Bridge Construction: Steel composite deck, double-plane cables and
two inclined concrete towers. Elevation and plan views of the bridge and
typical cross section are presented in Figure 1.
Project Scope: The two main arrays of bridge forestays were surveyed,
with the main goal of verifying the ease of set-up, and the operational
simplicity provided by the IBIS-S microwave remote sensing equipment.
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11
CASE HISTORY
Dynamic Measurements on the Forestays of a Cable-stayed Bridge
A2
For each array, 3000 s of radar data were acquired at a rate of 200 Hz;
the displacement time-history collected on stay-cable S
2U
is shown
in Figure 4. Figure 5 presents a direct comparison between: (1) the
auto-spectrum of the acceleration measured on stay-cable S
2U
by a
conventional accelerometer in the test of Spring 2004 and (2) the
auto-spectrum of the acceleration obtained from the radar sensor
(and computed by twice differentiating the IBIS-S displacement
data). The inspection of the spectral plots in Figure 5 clearly reveals
that the values of the rst seven natural frequencies of stay-cable
S
2U
, identied on the basis of the auto-spectra obtained using
conventional and radar measurement systems are virtually coincident
(1.84, 3.70, 5.53, 7.37, 9.24. 11.1 and 12.93 Hz in Fig.5). In addition,
the peaks of the ASDs placed at 1.06, 2.18, 4.25 and 6.03 Hz
correspond to the global natural frequencies of the bridge, identied
in the previous dynamic survey of the bridge in 2004.
The inspection of the ASDs in Figure 5 clearly highlights that, as
expected, the natural frequencies of the corresponding cables on
the two opposite sides; S
1U
S
1D
, S
2U
S
2D
and S
3U
S
3D
(Fig.1) are
almost equal. The response of all cables is characterized by a large
number of equally spaced and well-dened peaks so that the tension
forces can be computed from cables natural frequencies using the
taut string model; application of this approach leads to values of
cable tensions summarized in Table 2 and very close to the design
values. Finally, Figure 6 shows how close the experimental resonant
frequencies obtained from microwave remote sensing are to the
predictions of the taut string model.
Test Results
Figure 4. Defection time-history measured by the radar sensor on the
stay cable S
2U
.
Figure 5. Auto-spectrum displacement data comparison of the IBIS-S
radar (orange) and accelerometers (blue)on the stay-cable S'
2u
.
Figure 6. Experimental and taut-string based natural frequencies of:
(a) upstream side forestays and (b) downstream forestays.
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11
Upstream Forestays
a
Downstream Forestays
b
CASE HISTORY
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12
A3
Testing Procedure
The IBIS-S system was deployed under the bridge superstructure
(shown top left), illuminating fve corner refectors installed on
the west side of the bridge between two bridge piers. The feld set-
up and all data acquisition required less than 1/2 day. Due to the
non-contacting nature of the system and operational range, all
testing was performed with no traffc disruption and minimal
support requirements.
Each of the corner steel sheet metal refectors produces a sharp
peak on the IBIS-S range profle and therefore a good quality
data point whose displacement can be measured by analyzing the
phase variations with the differential interferometric technique.
Figure 3 presents the IBIS-S Power Profle; a high level of
backscattered signal in the range bin in which a crossing beam
is located gives a high Signal to Noise Ration and therefore, high
accuracy in the measurement of the displacement. The vertical
displacements of the fve metallic corner refectors installed on
the west side of the bridge (Fig.3) during the test set-up phase are
presented in Figure 4, which shows the resulting displacements
from the passage of a testing truck and other vehicles over the
bridge deck. The maximum measured peak to peak displacement at
mid-span is 2.26 mm. Vertical velocity vibration amplitudes of the
measurement points range from +/-4 mm/sec, depending on truck
speed. The velocity spectra (Fig. 5) shows six sharp frequency
peaks at 1.3, 2.05, 2.45, 2.95, 3.35, and 3.55 Hz, corresponding to
the structural resonance modes. The frst three should correspond
to mainly fexural modes while the second three should be related
to the torsional modes. Further analysis could be performed by
importing the IBIS-S Displacement Time Series into specifc
software for ambient modal vibration structural analyses to
evaluate, for example, the resonant frequencies, vibration mode
shapes and damping.
Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Concrete Bridge
Figure 1. System confguration and survey geometry of the post-tensioned box girder bridge
over Interstate 70 in Colorado, USA.
Figure 2. Installation of the 5 metallic corner
refectors due to the smooth concrete surfaces,
each at about 7.5 m spacing (Fig.1).
Project: Flyover Exit Ramp from I-70 EB to CO HWY 58 WB
Project Location: Golden, Colorado USA
Bridge Construction: Post-tensioned concrete box girder bridge
The system conguration and survey geometry is shown in Figure 1.
Project Scope: Primary objective of the demonstration was to measure the defection
time-histories and maximum defections of the bridge under normal auto and truck
traffc loading. Metallic corner refectors were mounted at 5 locations to monitor
vertical dispacements and vibrations.
Reference: Olson, L.D., Innovations in Bridge Superstructure Condition
Assessment with Sonic and Radar Methods, ASNT, NDE/NDT for Highways and
Bridges, Structural Materials Technology Conference, LaGuardia, NY (August 2010).
Corner Reectors
Metallic
Corner
Reectors
CASE HISTORY
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13
A3
Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Concrete Bridge
Figure 4. Vertical displacements of the fve passive metallic refectors
installed on the bridge caused by random vehicles and a 55,000 lb. test
truck (shown) passing over the bridge deck.
IBIS-S POWER PROFILE
A sharp peak corresponding
to each corner reector on the
bridge is clearly identied in
the prole.
Figure 3. Portion of the IBIS-S Power Profle from radar refections from the fve metallic corner
refectors (CR1-CR5).
Metal Corner Reector
Figure 5. .Velocity Frequency Spectrum for the 5 corner refectors from
displacement time domain data showing 6 resonances.
CASE HISTORY
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14
Testing Procedure
A4
A demonstration test was performed using the high precision IBIS-S
radar system, which was deployed on the Brooklyn side bank below
the bridge superstructure (Fig.2). The feld set-up and all data
acquisition required less than 1/2 day for the IBIS-S radar system.
Due to the non-contacting nature of the system and operational
range, all testing was performed with no traffc disruption and
minimal support requirements.
Two tests were performed pointing the
sensor frst towards the center and then to
the edge of the main span with an attempt to
estimate the torsion given by the asymmetric
confguration of the traffc. In both situations,
the IBIS-S radar system was placed under the bridge (Fig.2) on
the Brooklyn side illuminating most of the main span with the
radar beam, therefore allowing the accurate displacement measure
ment of around 80 visible points along the bridge span at the same
time (steel cross beams at 5.5 m spacings). The excellent natural
refectivity of the micro-wave from the steel foor beams provided
equally distributed measurement points along the tested span without
the need for artifcial refectors, oftentimes required for concrete or
other non-metallic structures. Each of the foor beams generated a
sharp peak on the IBIS-S range profle and therefore a good quality
point whose displacement can be measured by analyzing the phase
variations through the differential interferometric technique.
Figure 2. View of the IBIS-S system setup
on the Brooklyn side bank below the bridge
superstructure.
Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Steel Bridge
Project: Manhattan Bridge
Project Location: Brooklyn Borough, New York City, NY USA
Bridge Construction: Steel truss and suspension cable bridge weighing
over 14,680 tons. The bridge trafc layout is shown in Figure 1.
Project Scope: The primary objective of the demonstration was to
measure the defection time histories and maximum defections of
the centerline and north edge of the Manhattan Bridge under normal
automobile/truck and subway train traffc loading. A comparison test was
made with previously collected displacement data from Global Position
System (GPS) measurements versus IBIS-S radar system displacements.
Reference: L. Mayer, B. Yanev, L.D. Olson, A. Smyth, Monitoring of
the Manhattan Bridge and Interferometric Radar Systems, IABMAS 2010
Proceeding, Philadelphia, PA USA (June 2010)
Figure 1. Current Manhattan Bridge traffc layout: cross-section shown facing north.
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15
A4
CASE HISTORY
Static Displacement and Dynamic Vibration Monitoring of a Steel Bridge
Figure 3 presents a portion of the IBIS-S Power Profle: a high level
of backscattered signal in the range bin in which a cross foor beam
is located gives a high Signal to Noise Ratio and therefore high
accuracy in the measurement of the displacement.
Figure 4 shows the vertical displacement of the central section of
the oor beams in the main span resulting form the passage of a
single train over the deck. The measured peak to peak displacement at
mid-span is 33.82 cm but it decreases moving towards the bridge piers.
The slow train entrance can be clearly identied by the high delay
between the maximum vertical deections of points at the different
cross-sections of the span. Further, a positive vertical deformation of
5.31 cm can be observed when the train passes to the side spans.
Measured peak to peak vertical deformations were about 1 cm under
normal vehicular trafc when no trains were on the bridge.
Maximum peak to peak deformations measured during the passage
of more than one train both for the central and side section of the
main span are shown in Figure 5. Both deformed static curves are
close to symmetrical with respect to the center of the span. However,
the one related to the edge measurement shows a maximum deection
value at mid-span which is 6.67 cm higher than the one measured for
the central section. Because the scans were taken at different times,
the difference between the maximum deections mid-span must be
considered as a lower bound of the torsional movement. The center
of the cross section would not be at its lowest during the greatest
torsional deformation. Further, Figure 5 shows signicant torsional
behavior at quarter-span related to the second torsional mode, as
should be expected.
Jointly analyzing the results in the frequency domain through the
computation of the Displacement Cross-Spectrums of the whole set
of range bin combinations and averaging the results allows the
identication of the frequencies which are common to all
measurement points, excluding frequencies potentially given by
scattered noise effects. This kind of spectral analysis on the
displacement time series, measured both for the central and for the
side section, leads to the clear identication of three main resonant
structural frequencies. As shown in Figure 6, the rst resonant
frequency is at 0.23 Hz, the second one is at 0.30 Hz while the third
is at 0.49 Hz.
The frequencies obtained by the GPS were 0.23 Hz, 0.31 Hz
and 0.50 Hz respectively. Further, a resonant frequency peak at
0.016 Hz can be identied and was shown to be related to the slow
static deformation of a passing train. Also, similar magnitude of
displacements were measured by the earlier GPS measurements by
Columbia University to the IBIS-S displacements.
Test Results
Figure 3. Portion of the IBIS-S Power Profle.
Figure 4. Vertical displacement time series of the crossing beams
given by the passage of a single train over the deck.
Figure 5. Peak to peak vertical defection of the central and side
sections of the main span from trains from maximum IBIS-S
measured displacements of 80 foor beams.
Figure 6. Average displacement frequency spectra showing 3
resonances.
CASE HISTORY
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16
Testing Procedure
A5
Figure 2. (a) Corner refectors on left adjacent to accelerometer sensors
and (b) IBIS-S located under Capriate bridge near pier in circle above
Ambient Vibration Testing for Modal Analysis
Two series of ambient vibration tests were conducted and the
response of the bridge was measured at selected points using
WR-731A piezoelectric sensors for comparison with IBIS-S
measurements of 6 corner reectors. Figure 1 above shows a
schematic diagram of the vertical sensor layout. A series of three
set-ups were required to cover the measurement points identied
in Figure 1, with the accelerometers placed at points 5-6, 21-22
being used as reference measurements; the same gure identies
the locations of the corner reectors installed on the downstream
side of the deck (Fig.2a). As shown, both accelerometer and corner
reectors were positioned as closely as possible to each other.
Figure 1. Accelerometer Sensor and Corner Refector layout for ambient
vibration testing of the Capriate bridge (dimensions are in m).
Project: Capriate Bridge, Italy
Project Location: Trafc bridge crossing the Adda River between the
towns of Capriate and Trezzo
Bridge Construction: Multi-span concrete arch bridge
Project Scope: A comparison was made using accelerometers and the
IBIS-S radar system for ambient vibration testing to determine modal
vibration frequencies and shapes.
a
b
CASE HISTORY
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17
A5
Ambient Vibration Testing for Modal Analysis
The range prole of the stronger reectors, including the six corner
reectors, is shown in Figure 3.
Typical velocity signals recorded for the accelerometer at TP22 on
the downstream side and the adjacent corner reector of the IBIS-S
system are superimposed on each other in Figure 4. Review of this
gure indicates an excellent agreement between the accelerometer
(integrated to velocity units) and the IBIS-S (differentiated to
velocity units).
Frequency domain comparisons of the IBIS-S and accelerometer
are presented in Figure 5. Again, there is an excellent agreement
between the two systems with the IBIS-S having the advantage of
faster setup time and remote monitoring (no cables) of the
displacements and vibrations.
Two of the vibration modes apparent in Figure 5 are plotted for
all 6 corner reectors versus the accelerometer responses in
Figure 6. Review of this gure shows that the IBIS-S data agrees
very well with the accelerometer derived mode shapes and
frequencies. The evaluation of the modal parameters from
the radar signals was rst carried out by applying the Frequency
Domain Decomposition (FDD) technique to all available
velocity records obtained by the IBIS-S. The use of a greater
number of corner reectors would have thus fully dened the
mode shapes for the bridge just as was done with the
accelerometers which are more fully plotted in Figure 6.
Test Results
Figure 3. Range profle data results from the downstream side.
Figure 4. Comparison of velocity (mm/s) vibration responses versus
time (14 s) comparison for the accelerometer and IBIS-S corner
refector measurements at TP22.
Figure 5. Comparison of frequency domain responses from 3000
seconds of data between the IBIS-S and Accelerometer.
Figure 6. Modal shape comparison with IBIS-S and Accelerometer.
CASE HISTORY
Project: Bordolano cable-stayed bridge #2
Project Location: Bridge over the Oglio River, Italy
Bridge Construction: Steel composite deck, double-plane cables and two
inclined concrete towers. Elevation and plan views of the bridge and typical
cross section are presented in Figure 1.
Project Scope: The two main arrays of bridge forestays were surveyed, with
the main goal of verifying the ease of set-up, and the operational simplicity
provided by the IBIS-S microwave remote sensing equipment.
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18
Testing Procedure
A6
Figure 2. The existing transversal beams
acted as natural refectors, and were
exploited as measurement points.
Dynamic Monitoring of Vertical Displacements Caused by a Train
A measurement was performed on a bridge of the Kuranda Scenic
Railway using the IBIS-S radar system. The IBIS-S was installed
2.7 m below the bridge deck (Fig.1) in order to measure its deection
during the passing of the train. The existing transversal beams of
the bridge could be exploited as measurement points (Fig.2).
The IBIS-S radar system illuminated the entire metallic portion of
the bridge from below. In Figure 3, it is possible to see the radar
image of the bridge. Every peak in the image is an exploitable
measurement point. A total of 18 peaks occured between 16 and
41 m which correspond to the beams on the central span.
The whole measurement consisted of 2 sessions of 10 minutes each
across two train passages. The results from the rst measurement
session in terms of displacement vs time and frequency analysis of
the measured displacements are shown on the next page.
Figure 1. The IBIS-S system was installed under the bridge (circled area) in order to measure its
defection during the passage of a train.
Project: Scenic railway bridge, completed in 1891. It is said to be the
most photographed bridge in all of Australia.
Project Location: Kuranda Scenic Railway, Cairns, AU
Bridge Construction: Winding its way through dense rainforest, steep
ravines and picturesque waterfalls, this steel trestle railway incudes over
49 bridges and 19 hand-made tunnels.
Project Scope: The IBIS-S radar system was utilized to determine the
maximum displacement of the now century old bridge for accessing
the current stress and fatigue of the bridge deck. The experimental
results consist of the visualisation of the bridge deck displacement; and
identication of the resonance frequencies of the structure.
Operational Parameters
Maximum Range Distance 120 m
Sampling Frequency 70 Hz
Spacial Resolution (in range) 0, 5
Measurement Parameters
Test Width (across train passage) 10 ft
Bridge Length ~ 50 m
Bridge Deck Height (above IBIS-S) 2.7 m
CASE HISTORY
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19
A6
Dynamic Monitoring of Vertical Displacements Caused by a Train
Figure 4. A frequency was obtained by applying the frequency
analysis to the measured displacements linked to a train passage.
Figure 5. Line of Sight displacement projected along the vertical direction, according to the radar to
bridge measured distance (2.7 m).
Figure 3. IBIS-S radar range profle of the illuminated rail (Fig.2).
Steel pillar
1/4 Bridge Length 1/2 Bridge Length
Steel pillar
End of Bridge
IBIS-S Radar Range Prole
BRIDGE
Test Results
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