Digital Twin Models for Maintenance of Cable-Supported Bridges

Recently, long-span bridges have more than 100 years of service life. Since cable-supported bridges are key links in transportation networks, it is essential to manage the structures in a good service state. Most cable-supported bridges have bridge maintenance systems with monitoring sensors. However, records of damage and their repairs are not well managed. In this paper, a new bridge maintenance system was designed using a digital twin model concept. According to different maintenance tasks, inventory and information requirements were investigated. The digital model is a platform to collect, curate and share the maintenance history. For certain events, the model can be utilized for the analysis to consider any change of structural parameters. Recorded responses from sensors are used to update the digital twin model. Based on the design of the maintenance system, a pilot application on an existing cable-stayed bridge was conducted for a year and feedback was discussed. Extension of the application for a suspension bridge was also presented to generalize the methodology.