Vibrating gauges are wired and connected to a battery powered controller box that provides water ingress prevention and lightning protection. Data collection is done through the controller box attached to the bridge deck where a solar powered cellular transmitter remotely delivers data to UM- Structures and Materials Laboratory (SML) computers for respective data analysis run by the graduate students with the help of sophisticated software provided by the manufacturer.
Graduate Student Guillermo Claure doing on-site surface preparation work before installation of vibrating wire gauge on steel rebar.
“Deploying the technology we have been working on in the SML in UM’s College of Engineering during the last decade gives credibility to the efforts … of our students and faculty … addressing the sustainability challenges we face as a society,” Nanni said.
