Monitoring of bridge deformation using GPS technique

Tianjin Yonghe Bridge is one of the important infrastructures in China where it serves as the crucial links in the transport network. Monitoring and maintenance of this bridge are essential tasks in prolonging its life. In this paper, GPS system was used for deformation data collection. Two analytical methods namely; Kalman Filter (KF) and Parametric Least Square (PLS) were used for the adjustment of these data. The analysis of test results indicate that: (1) the traffic loads are the main factor affects bridge damage, (2) after ten months of traffic opening, the south tower of bridge was returned to its original case, and (3) the maximum deformation was pronounced 48.2 m far from the beginning abutment after six months of bridge opening.