Associate Professor Lauren Linderman

The monitoring system of the I-35W Bridge has been collecting data since the bridge’s opening in 2008. Over 500 sensors were deployed on the bridge, including vibrating wire strain gages, fiber optic strain sensors, thermistors, linear potentiometers, corrosion sensors, and accelerometers.  This uniquely large dataset allows these researchers to evaluate the time-dependent bridge displacements, monitoring system performance, sensor viability, and provide insight on how monitoring systems might be used effectively in the future in Minnesota. As part of this work, the researchers leverage a large-scale Abaqus model of the bridge that incorporates construction sequencing and time-dependent concrete material behavior.