Exploratory Advanced Research . . . Next Generation Transportation Solutions

The framework under development is unique in 

several ways: in the variety, location, and number 

of sensors it utilizes; in its global approach to monitoring structural, mechanical, and electrical components; in the sheer amount of data that can be 

collected, integrated, and effectively analyzed; 

and finally, in new methods of quantifying uncertainties in making decisions about a structure’s reliability and load-carrying capacity and in predicting its future performance. Advances are under 

way in the following general areas:

•	 Data—Integrating data from a broad array of 

sources for analysis and future research, including historical data. 

•	 Reliability models—Defining safety and serviceability performance expectations for individual 

structural components and structural systems.

•	 Analysis and prediction—Developing reliable 3D 

finite element models that can be constantly updated with new data.

Gathering and Integrating Data

Using state-of-the-art data mining and analysis 

techniques, information generated during the design, construction, and maintenance of structures 

can be integrated with continuously updated data 

from a network of monitoring sensors. Common 

monitoring technologies (e.g., sensors for strain, 

temperature, displacement, tilt, vibration) are being used, as well as technologies that are newer or 

not traditionally used in bridge monitoring (e.g., 

video imaging, infrared sensing, pressure gages, 

microphones). The way in which the sensors are 

used along with signal processing techniques the 

researchers have developed make this entire application a novel method. The study also includes 

the collection of uncertainty information for sensors by means of analyzing data over the long 

term.

Using Advanced, Systems-Based 

Analysis Methods

The proposed framework is expected to support 

decisionmaking through automated analysis and 

The Exploratory Advanced Research Program Fact Sheet

Developing a New Infrastructure 

Management Framework

The deterioration of the Nation’s infrastructure 

brings new urgency to improving the safety and 

performance of bridges and other highway structures. Effectively managing their maintenance, repair, and replacement requires a deeper understanding of how these complex structures and their 

components respond to environmental conditions 

and increasing traffic loads and to unusual hazards 

such as earthquakes, floods, fires, and collisions. 

“Our knowledge of how structures behave over 

time under a wide range of environmental and load 

conditions is broad but incomplete,” says Hamid 

Ghasemi, of FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure 

Research and Development. “This research is pursuing a structural monitoring framework that can 

accommodate the collection, integration, and analysis of monitoring data to better predict bridge performance. The goal is to provide the best information possible to inform decisions about further 

testing, repairs, and reconstructions.”

Fiscally responsible, safe, life-cycle management of the Nation’s bridges 

depends on reliably predicting their health 

over time. The goal of the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program project, 

“Development and Demonstration of 

Systems-Based Monitoring Approaches 

for Improved Infrastructure Management 

Under Uncertainty,” is a next-generation, 

integrated framework to advance the reliability of bridge assessment. The Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded 

this project to researchers from the University of Central Florida and Lehigh 

University.

New Ways to Predict Bridge Performance 

Advances in Structural Health Monitoring
data management—providing information that will 

allow infrastructure owners to schedule maintenance and other interventions at the most costeffective intervals. The researchers have developed 

time-dependent deterioration models that are calibrated with monitoring data collected within the 

framework, and a software program to compute 

these models. The Bayesian updating technique is 

used to incorporate data from the monitoring system, permitting a higher degree of accuracy in the 

prediction of future outcomes. As part of the highrisk nature of this project, the researchers have explored and demonstrated novel methods such as 

the use of synchronized video imaging and sensor 

data in structural health monitoring, which shows 

great promise in the laboratory and in real-life implementation for predicting the load-carrying capacity of bridges.

Future Efforts

The project’s technologies, algorithms, and methods have been tested in physical test beds in laboratories and are now being implemented on a midsize steel bridge near Ft. Lauderdale with support 

from the Florida Department of Transportation, 

District 4. This 1-year demonstration under realworld conditions will allow investigators to evaluate 

and refine the framework under a full annual cycle 

of weather and traffic conditions. While the researchers have been reporting their findings at conferences and in scientific journals, the project’s final 

products will be shared with transportation engineers at the conclusion of the study. 

This research could lead to significant cost efficiencies in managing transportation structures, 

while also reducing the cost of information processing and analysis through automated data collection 

and evaluation processes. Perhaps most important, 

the structural health monitoring framework is expected to accelerate advances in performancebased condition assessment of transportation 

infrastructure. 

What Is the Exploratory 

Advanced Research Program?

FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) 

Program focuses on long-term, high-risk research with a high payoff potential. The program addresses underlying gaps faced by applied highway research programs, anticipates 

emerging issues with national implications, 

and reflects broad transportation industry 

goals and objectives. 

To learn more about the EAR Program, visit 

the Exploratory Advanced Research Web site 

at www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch. The 

site features information on research solicitations, updates on ongoing research, links to 

published materials, summaries of past EAR 

Program events, and details on upcoming 

events. For additional information, contact 

David Kuehn at FHWA, 202-493-3414 (email: 

david.kuehn@dot.gov), or Terry Halkyard at 

FHWA, 202-493-3467 (email: terry.halkyard@

dot.gov).

Learn More

For more information on this EAR Program project, 

contact Hamid Ghasemi, FHWA Office of 

Infrastructure Research and Development, at 

202-493-3042 (email: hamid.ghasemi@dot.gov).

Publication No. 

FHWA-HRT-10-062

HRTM-04/07-10(1M)E

New Ways to Predict Bridge Performance 

Advances in Structural Health Monitoring

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