Experimental Validation of a High Precision GNSS System for Monitoring of Civil Infrastructures

Abstract

In recent years, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies, which take full advantage of both real-time kinematic (RTK) and precise point positioning (PPP), managed to reach centimeter-level positioning accuracy with ambiguity resolution (AR) quick convergence techniques. One great advantage over traditional structural health monitoring (SHM) systems is that GNSS technologies will be functional in disaster management situations, when terrestrial communication links become unavailable. In this study, a multi-GNSS system, based on GPS and Galileo constellations and exploiting advanced RTK and PPP-AR technologies with update rate of 100 Hz is tested on two benchmark structures as an SHM system. The first case study served as a baseline to outline the methodology: first, a setup phase of the instrumentation, then a signal processing phase and last, the validation of the results. The methodology was then applied to a real-case scenario, in which the GNSS was tested on a road bridge. A comparative analysis with the results acquired by a set of accelerometers showed that the GNSS was able to identify the crossing of heavy vehicles. The work is paving the way for the development of an affordable and efficient multi-GNSS-based tool for the monitoring of civil infrastructures.

Literature Review on the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Sustainable Civil Infrastructure: An Analysis of Influencing Factors in the Implementation

“…Not only does sensor placement benefit from advanced methods and intelligent algorithms, but the overall development of SHM in recent years has been transitioning from 'automated monitoring' to 'intelligent monitoring' [89]. For example, the practical application of real-time Global Navigation Satellite System high-precision technology in civil infrastructure SHM is investigated in the study by Cinque et al [90].…”

“…Then, the contribution of Martín et al [91] is to propose an Edge/Fog/Cloud architecture for civil infrastructure SHM, which makes the implementation of SHM more flexible and highly versatile. A valuable finding from the synthesis is that the integration-related factors of smart sensing technologies are paid considerable attention in academia [89]. For one thing, an integration strategy is a critical factor in exploiting the synergies between different types of sensing/diagnostic technologies and advanced concepts from other domains [89,92].…”

“…A valuable finding from the synthesis is that the integration-related factors of smart sensing technologies are paid considerable attention in academia [89]. For one thing, an integration strategy is a critical factor in exploiting the synergies between different types of sensing/diagnostic technologies and advanced concepts from other domains [89,92]. For another, it needs to be driven by both technical and organizational levels.…”

GNSS-Based Dam Monitoring: The Application of a Statistical Approach for Time Series Analysis to a Case Study

“…As happened with remote sensing techniques [15][16][17][18], the application of methods based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is now consolidated, where GNSS networks of points are measured with reference to proximal CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) or other stations established on purpose in nearby stable areas [19][20][21][22]. More recently, automatic systems based on GNSS positioning have been developed to be integrated into early-warning systems for dam safety management [23,24].…”