Bridges: Vaux

Case study: SOFO System

Steel-concrete bridge
Monitoring during the push phase
Steel-concrete interaction
curvature monitoring

Project Description

Summary: Box girder monitoring during push phase, concrete deck monitoring

Clients: Vaud Canton

Place: Vaud Canton (Switzerland)

Period: 1997 - N/A

Installation: IMAC / ICOM - EPFL

Structure's short description: The Vaux viaduct is a composite highway bridge. A steel caisson supports a concrete slab. The steel caisson was pushed across the valley, on top of concrete piles as high as 120m.

Aim of monitoring: The SOFO sensors were used in two phases of the bridge construction: during the push phase and during the construction of the concrete deck. In the first phase the sensors were installed inside the steel caisson and monitored its deformations during pushing. The same sensors were then re-used when the concrete deck was concreted, with the aim of monitoring the concrete deformations and its interaction with the steel support.

Number of sensor: 24

Main Results: During the push phase it was possible to observe the deformations induced in the caisson as its support conditions changed, for example when passing on a support. The sensors embedded in concrete were used to determine the amount of shrinkage and pre-stressing that was transferred from the concrete slab to the steel caisson.

Sensor installation on the I-beams

Instrument setup inside the caisson

Bibliography:

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