Data fusion of MEMS accelerometer and hydrostatic leveling for structural health monitoring.The test rig investigations

Abstract

[EN] This paper deals with the data fusion of MEMS accelerometer and hydrostatic leveling to contribute to the structural health monitoring, e.g., of bridge structures. In the past years, researchers derived the deformation and bending line of bridges by profile measurements with terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), by means of MEMS accelerometers and image assisted total station (IATS) also with the aim to obtain the modal parameters (eigenfrequencies and eigenforms). At least the TLS-based approach is not suitable for a long-term monitoring. The approach by using MEMS accelerometers is very promising and allows for a long-term installation. Following the MEMS accelerometer approach, we investigate the data fusion of MEMS accelerometers and hydrostatic leveling, which also allows for a long-term installation of the monitoring system. This approach combines the classical hydrostatic leveling with its data showing long-term stability with the high-frequent data of the MEMS accelerometers. To investigate the data fusion of the abovementioned sensors a test rig is developed to simulate deformations in scaled laboratory environments. The test rig consists of a metal bar with a maximum span width of 3 m, which can be bent by a hydraulic press, and allows for a flexible positioning of both sensors. The scope of the laboratory experiments is the evaluation of different algorithms and methods regarding the data fusion, covering aspects of filtering and calculation of the bending line. Finally, those laboratory experiments should support the understanding and knowledge of the bending line calculations and performance of the used sensors to obtain deformation information with respect to specific load levels.