Monitoring
Bridge Monitoring

Corrosive degradation, fatigue, cracking, and weather-related faults can put bridges under undue stress, creating the risk of a serious asset failure.

Increasing rates of traffic and the subsequent load strain it causes can lead to unpredictable bridge failures. But bridge supports and cables can often be difficult to inspect on a regular basis, as shutting down bridges for inspections is often not an option due to our reliance on them for transportation.

MISTRAS Group is a trusted provider of structural health monitoring (SHM) solutions for bridges of all types. Using our non-destructive testing (NDT) technology, MISTRAS offers 24/7, remote online monitoring to ensure safety, optimize structural and operational integrity, reduce repair costs, and extend your bridge’s lifespan.

Bridge SHM Early Fault Detection

MISTRAS’ continuous bridge structural health monitoring (SHM) solutions are a supplement to spot field inspections. Our monitoring solutions accurately detect, locate, and alarm operators to structural health issues while bridges remain in use, detecting cracks, corrosion, and faults before they lead to a larger issue, and extending intervals between bridge inspections.

SHM makes it possible for the type, rate, location, and frequency of damage to be reported immediately, allowing rapid action to be taken.

MISTRAS’ bridge monitoring solutions detect:

• Corrosion
• Cracking
• Fatigue
• Faults
• Fretting
• Humidity
• Load stress
• Strain
• Temperature
• Tendon Strain
• Tilt/Displacement
• Vibration
• Wire Breaks

Whether you operate a suspension, cable stay, pre-tensioned, post-tensioned, concrete, or steel, 24/7 remote online monitoring of your bridge gives you peace of mind over your asset’s health and condition.

Quantifiable, Full-Coverage Bridge Monitoring

Our acoustic emission (AE) monitoring solutions are industry-proven to pinpoint exactly when and where a fault occurred with real-time, quantifiable data. In traditional inspections on a cable-stay bridge, opening and wedging only checks 3-5% of the cable, which means more than 95% of the panel’s conditions are unknown.

By utilizing Acoustic Emission (AE), 100% of the cables volume is monitored for wire breaks and a cumulative history is developed so that bad panels are located and repaired.  Using a risk-based monitoring program yields quantitative results about the cable’s condition.

In addition to acoustic emission, we also offer a comprehensive toolbox of instrumentation, software, and service solutions, including data management, thermography, ultrasonic testing (UT), radiography (RT), fiber-optic, and other inspection technologies.

Bridge SHM Data Management & Reporting

MISTRAS provides daily, weekly, or monthly bridge condition updates to system managers and bridge operators. We also perform automated data analysis; provide 2D, 3D, and zonal defect locations; and send real-time alarms straight to system operators when defects are detected.

Key Bridge Monitoring Benefits

• Condition Ranking
• Prioritization of repair/replacement
• Reduction of inspection and lane closure costs
• Monitoring of critical member fracture
• Prolonged bridge lifespans
• Detection of non-visible defects
• Reduction of bridge maintenance costs
• Enhanced bridge safety