Constrained MLAMBDA Method for Multi-GNSS Structural Health Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering
• Structural Health Monitoring

Background:

• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) offers high-precision deformation monitoring for structures.
• Accurate structural monitoring relies on rapid and reliable resolution of integer ambiguities in GNSS carrier phase measurements.
• Conventional methods often overlook crucial a priori structural information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved GNSS-based deformation monitoring strategy.
• To enhance integer ambiguity resolution by incorporating structural prior information.
• To validate the proposed method's performance in real-world structural monitoring scenarios.

Main Methods:

• A composite strategy combining the modified least-squares ambiguity decorrelation adjustment (MLAMBDA) method with structural deformation prior information.
• Testing the method using data from Baishazhou Bridge and a Teaching Experiment Building.
• Comparison with conventional MLAMBDA methods lacking prior information.

Main Results:

• The proposed constrained MLAMBDA method significantly improved the ambiguity success rate (ASR): 20% for GLONASS and 10% for Multi-GNSS.
• Processing time was reduced by 60 seconds for single systems and 180 seconds for Multi-GNSS systems.
• Enhanced positioning accuracy meeting structural health monitoring requirements.

Conclusions:

• The integration of structural prior information with MLAMBDA offers a superior approach for integer ambiguity resolution.
• The proposed strategy enhances the reliability and efficiency of GNSS applications in structural health monitoring.
• This advancement contributes to more precise and dependable deformation monitoring of engineering structures.