Tunnel Structural Health Monitoring Systems
Structural Health Monitoring allows rapid assessment of a tunnel’s state of health and such approach is becoming recognized as an appropriate mean to increase the safety and optimize operational and maintenance activities of tunnels. Data resulting from the monitoring program is used to improve the operation, the maintenance, the repair and the replacement of the structure based on objective results. Detection of ongoing damages can be used to discriminate deviations from design performance. Malfunctioning tunnels can often have serious consequences. The most severe are failures involving human victims.
Even when there is no loss of life, populations suffer if the structure is partially or completely out of service. Learning how a tunnel performs in real conditions will help design better structures for the future. This can lead to cheaper, safer and more durable structures with increased reliability, performance and safety.
Structural monitoring using the Partsaze Group solutions represents a good way to improve knowledge and assessment on the structural performance and integrity.
Monitoring plays an important role in every stage of the construction of a tunnel:
- At the design stage for site evaluation
- During construction to evaluate the impact of geological conditions, the effect of the tunnel on nearby structures and construction methods to be used.
- At service stage to ensure the safety over its lifespan
Benefits of the Partsaze Group's Integrated Tunnel Health Monitoring Solutions:
1 - Integrated Solutions: The Partsaze Group provides Integrated Structural Health Monitoring Solutions for Tunnels, based on advanced fiber optic technologies and conventional sensors. We also integrate local corrosion sensors and other third party transducers for additional information. All sensing technologies are seamlessly integrated into a single database and user interface.
2 – SHMLive: Through the SHMLive service, the Partsaze Group offers a comprehensive solution for tunnel monitoring. This includes the design of the system, its delivery and installation, maintenance and operation, web access to the data and data analysis by experienced engineering partners, all for a fixed monthly fee.
3 - Ensure integrity of environment & users: Early detection of performance degradation can save lives by closing access to the structure in time. Our monitoring systems are perfectly suited to collect permanent and reliable monitoring data from every kind of tunnel.
4 - Extend the lifetime of ageing tunnels: Many structures are in much better condition than expected or observed by visual inspection alone. In such cases, monitoring will allow the owner of a tunnel to increase the safety margins without any intervention on the structure. Owners can take advantage of better material properties over design and synergetic effects, to extend the lifetime or load-bearing capacity of structures. If repairs are really needed, the monitoring data will help designing an optimal repair strategy.
5 - Reliable monitoring during tunnel construction: The Partsaze Group's monitoring system is suitable to provide an accurate convergence monitoring that will guarantee a precise tracking of any radial displacement for several sections of the tunnel under construction and during its whole lifespan.
6 - Improve knowledge on tunnel design: Improve and increase knowledge on structural behavior of tunnels, with particular reference to the optimization of shapes and thickness of metallic frameworks, on the long-term and when new construction technologies are used. Monitoring helps creation, knowledge's improvement and accurate recalibration of numerical models.
7 - Assessing tunnel safety immediately after a major event: Understand and assess possible damages and failures caused by extraordinary events such as fire, earthquakes, explosions or floods. This ability allows responsible engineer or consultant to make a preliminary assessment of whether the safety of the structure has been seriously compromised.
8 - The Partsaze Group: a dependable partner for instrumentation project management The Partsaze Group will support the owners in all phases of a project, from system design to installation, commissioning and training. Through the experience and commitment of the Partsaze Group, any monitoring needs will be met.
Solutions:
The following packages are the most widely used for Tunnel monitoring. However, each project has specific requirements and needs that can be addressed by a tailored system. The Partsaze Group has developed a 7-step methodology to design and implement a optimal SHM system for any tunnel.
Local Strain: Concrete lining strain, steel ribs strain
Average Strain: Extensometer
Distributed Strain: Strain distribution, crack detection, anomalous movement detection
Displacement: Joint openings, existing crack opening
Settlement: Differential settlement
3D Movement: Convergence
Pressure: Rock / Soil pressure
Distributed Temperature: Temperature profile, fire characterization
Rebar Corrosion: Concrete corrosion & humidity