Structural Health Monitoring using a GPS sensor network
Résumé
Over the last decade, the rapid expansion of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) coupled with the incremental improvements on the existing GPS constellation has continuously increased the robustness of satellite positioning, therefore significantly improving the reliability and the possibilities of a GNSS-based structural health monitoring system. Moreover, thanks to constant evolution, GPS-only receivers have proven to be more and more efficient with relatively simple hardware, provided that they are used in an appropriate workflow such as relative positioning with short baselines. This paper presents an application of a network of cost-effective GPS receivers as a part of a monitoring system. Monitoring data are acquired from a network of a dozen of GPS 'Geocube' stations installed on a suspended bridge, the Brotonne Bridge, in France. One main objective of this network is to be able to detect some changes in bridge behaviour. Data from GPS sensor is analysed and correlated with traditional data, such as piers temperature. This study validates that a GPS sensor network can provide useful and reliable data for structural monitoring.