SMT Innovates: Bridge Stress Monitoring

SMT has been working hard to continuously develop and innovate our sensor solutions for bridge monitoring. We are currently installing sensors to monitor for bridge stress, which will be our second bridge monitoring project thus far. SMT has been working alongside municipalities, the University of Manitoba, and SIMTReC Canada to develop these bridge solutions.

For this project, SMT has developed a steel sensor roughly the size of a human hair to be installed onto the steel framing of the bridge. The sensor measures resistance, and once it “snaps,” it indicates sensor movement and therefore bridge stress. With our analytics, we will also be able to see the data just before the sensor “snaps” to ensure safety and necessary calls to action. The sensor development and installation was created to enable municipalities to monitor older bridge structure’s and elongate their lifespans before repairs absolutely must be done. Managing referred maintenance increases the safety for those who pass over the bridge. The data will allow for cities to keep track of the quality for the life of the structure. These sensors can also be used for concrete buildings and assemblies.

At SMT, we are constantly innovating and creating new solutions for problems we would like to solve. If you have any questions or inquiries, or a similar project, feel free to contact us or tweet us @smtresearch!