A system model for lifecycle monitoring of bridges

In current bridge maintenance practice, condition grades are assigned to individual bridges, based on regularly performed inspections. The main limitations to this approach are the time-discrete and also subjective nature of grade assignment. To overcome this issue, major bridge authorities are developing new methods for condition assessment, based on collecting and evaluating sensor data in real time. In this research, a system model-based approach has been developed to accurately model the correlations between the deterioration mechanisms and the measurement values indicating the progress of the deterioration. A major challenge in this context is to correctly model the impact of local deterioration on the condition of the bridge as a whole. The actual state propagation mechanism is achieved by means of logical connection elements. The resulting impact tree can be used for propagating the condition assignments from the leaf nodes (the sensors) to the top (the entire bridge).