A prototype system for acoustic emission-based structural health monitoring of My Thuan bridge

Abstract

The paper describes the stages in the development of the prototype monitoring system commissioned by the government of Vietnam (the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) for the structural health evaluation of the My Thuan cable-stayed bridge over the Tien Giang River in the Mekong Delta. The system is based on the acoustic emission (AE) technology, which uses the destructive process identification method (RPD). The application of AE technique allows monitoring and tracking the processes that occur over the entire volume of a structure independent of strain and stress but depending mainly on the integrity of the structure, which is of utmost importance for the service life and safe operation of the bridge.