The initial structural health monitoring system of the Nibelungen Bridge Worms

As an essential part of the validation project for the German Research Foundation-funded Priority Program SPP 100+, an initial structural health monitoring system has been implemented on the Nibelungen Bridge in Worms. The aim of this system is to monitor the general behavior of the bridge for further development of condition indicators and to provide real data to all project partners to validate their methods. In this scope, 20 sensors, including radiation, humidity, temperature, inclination, linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), and acceleration sensors, have already been installed on the bridge. The quality of the recorded data, including measurement technical traceability, completeness, and reliability, shall be guaranteed. Subsequently, both the raw data and the first statistically evaluated values, such as the maximum, average, and minimum values, are saved. These raw and first-hand data are made available to the involved partners in a possible real-time manner. In addition, a web-based visualization platform has also been established. Therefore, users can access the deviation of the measured values from different sensors in the most direct way. The measured results of this initiated SHM system are compared and validated with numerical simulation results. Further supplementation of additional sensors, extension, and improvement of this initial system are aimed to be achieved in the future.