Wave-Screening Methods for Prestress-Loss Assessment of a Large-Scale Post-Tensioned Concrete Bridge Model Under Outdoor Conditions

This paper presents advancements in structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques, with a particular focus on wave-screening methods for assessing prestress loss in a large-scale prestressed concrete (PC) bridge model under outdoor conditions. The wave-screening process utilizes low-frequency wave propagation obtained from seismic interferometry of structural free vibrations and high-frequency wave propagation obtained through ultrasonic transducers embedded in the structure. An adjustable post-tensioning system was employed in a series of experiments to simulate prestress loss. By comparing bridge vibrations under varying post-tensioning forces, the study investigated prestress loss and examined temperature-related effects using the coda wave interferometry (CWI) method. Local structural alterations were analyzed through wave velocity variations, demonstrating sensitivity to bridge temperature changes. The findings indicate that wave-based methods are more effective than traditional modal analysis for damage detection, highlighting the dual impacts of prestress loss and temperature, as well as damage localization. This study underscores the need for long-term measurements to account for temperature fluctuations when analyzing vibration measurements to investigate changes in prestressing force in PC structures.