An IoT-Based Road Bridge Health Monitoring and Warning System

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Structural Health Monitoring
• Internet of Things (IoT)

Background:

• Earthquakes cause significant infrastructure damage, particularly to road bridges, leading to loss of life.
• Existing bridge monitoring methods are limited by detection capabilities, cost, and accessibility.
• Aging infrastructure requires advanced solutions to prevent structural failure and ensure public safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a wireless, low-cost, and user-friendly IoT-based system for monitoring bridge health status.
• To classify bridge health into distinct categories from excellent to collapse.
• To enhance transportation safety and reduce maintenance costs through an early warning system.

Main Methods:

• Integration of deflection, vibration, temperature, humidity, and infrared sensors.
• Application of the Internet of Things (IoT) for data transmission and analysis.
• Utilizing a fuzzy logic algorithm for health status classification and an early warning system.
• Development of a mobile application and Google Maps interface for real-time data visualization.

Main Results:

• A 3-D prototype model was constructed and tested to validate the system's performance.
• Practical testing confirmed the fuzzy logic algorithm's accuracy in determining bridge health status.
• The system demonstrated expected accuracy in classifying bridge health conditions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed IoT-based system offers a reliable and cost-effective solution for bridge health monitoring.
• Early warning capabilities significantly enhance transportation safety and infrastructure management.
• The system effectively addresses the limitations of traditional bridge inspection methods.