Study on non-contact weighted-stretched-wire system for measuring bridge deflections and its effect factors

Measurement of short-term and long-term deflections is a necessary step towards understanding and evaluating the status of a bridge. In this paper, a novel non-contact weighted-stretched-wire (NCWSW) system is developed for measuring the deflection of a bridge. Also some factors related to the system are addressed. The proposed system is promising due to some attractive features such as high precision, low implementation cost and suitability for continuous monitoring. The efficiency and reliability of NCWSW system are investigated both analytically and experimentally. A realistic NCWSW system has been used in the monitoring of a real-world bridge.