Collaborative Sensors Networks for Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges in Costa Rica

Abstract

The condition of road infrastructure in countries like Costa Rica, combined with natural disasters related to rain, floods, and other natural events, makes the proper management of bridge structures a specially sensitive issue for national institutions. This situation creates the need to monitor the health of bridge structures in order to anticipate or avoid a collapse caused either by a failure of a bridge component or by an environmental threat. In this context, the research described in this article aims at the design and implementation of a prototype of a network of collaborative sensors to monitor the condition of bridges in Costa Rica, in order to support the prevention of negative effects caused by natural disasters and in particular by an increase in the water level of the river under a bridge. This article describes the analysis, design, implementation, and testing process of a collaborative sensor network system that meets the requirements to monitor and alert in emergency situations associated with bridge-type structures.