Monitoring the Height Deflections of the Humber Bridge by GPS, GLONASS and Finite Element Modelling

The following paper details trials recently conducted by the IESSG whereby kinematic GPS and the Russian equivalent to GPS, Global’naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), were used to monitor the deflection of the Humber Bridge under a loading of 160 tons, moved across the bridge by five articulated lorries. The trial consisted of placing four dual frequency GPS receivers and a GPS/GLONASS receiver on the bridge deck, a dual frequency GPS receiver upon one of the lorries and reference receivers placed on land. The data, gathered at 5 Hz, was then processed in an On the Fly manner resulting in a precision of the order of a few millimetres. Finite element modelling of such structures can take advantage of similar trials and results. The results were compared to a finite element model by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brunel University, and showed remarkable comparisons.