Sensors facilitate health monitoring of landmark Yangtze River bridge

WUHAN, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have installed various sensors on the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge to monitor the health of this architectural landmark in the central Chinese megacity.

"A total of 114 sensors were installed across the whole bridge, which can keep us informed of emergencies including earthquakes, vessel strikes, and the displacement of the main beam and bridge bearings," said Zhang Mengmeng, an engineer with China Railway Bridge Science Research Institute.

Zhang said real-time data would be transmitted to the bridge's health monitoring platform, which will alert staff in emergencies and provide data guidance for the bridge's inspection, maintenance and repair.

The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is the first highway-railway bridge built over the Yangtze, China's longest river, after the founding of the People's Republic of China. During its 65 years of service, the bridge suffered environmental erosion and several accidents, including vessel collisions.

Routine inspections of the bridge have traditionally been carried out manually on a regular basis. However, the process is time-consuming and it can be challenging to find hidden dangers.

In recent years, China has vigorously promoted intelligent transportation to improve the management and maintenance of certain old bridges through the use of technology.

So far, intelligent health monitoring systems have been applied in all bridges on the Wuhan section of the Yangtze River.