Monitoring of Bridges with Static Strain and Displacement Data

Monitoring of the static response of bridges under service and environmental loading has been recently considered a valid alternative to the more classical methods based on the measurements of the dynamic response and subsequent dynamic system identification. The paper starts reviewing and comparing some of the most common data processing techniques used both in dynamic and in the static monitoring fields, with the aim of outlining the main differences in the characteristics of the information extracted. A discussion is also presented, based on experiences gathered both from practical applications and from research experiments, on advantages and disadvantages of the static monitoring approaches. The reliability of the damage assessment process via static monitoring techniques will also be addressed.