GNSS TECHNOLOGY FOR STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING

Monitoring the in situ behavior of constructions is a very important operation because it certifies the safety of the structure and can offer valuable information that can be capitalized in a better understanding of the dynamic behavior of these objectives. Nowadays, because of the latest developments in the GNSS industry, the positioning accuracy can satisfy besides navigation - the initial goal of the GPS system - the requirements of other fields like structural monitoring. By using RTK-GNSS observations it is possible to measure the structural displacements with high accuracy or even to detect the natural frequencies of the oscillations of the monitored object. Thus, GNSS technology can be looked upon as a new and very promising tool for dynamic evaluation of engineering structures. The trend is to integrate GNSS receivers along with other sensors like accelerometers, inclinometers, anemometers etc. in a multi-sensor monitoring system, because exploiting the complementary characteristics of these instruments and the redundancy of the measurements, the overall system performance and reliability can be significantly unproved. This article is concerned with the use of continuous GNSS observations for monitoring a suspended bridge and also with the integration of GNSS receivers in a hybrid system for monitoring structural behavior. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]