Evaluation of Two Monitoring Systems for Significant Bridges in Texas

Two monitoring systems for bridges were evaluated for the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT prefers to use monitoring systems that can be installed and maintained by independent organizations. It is important that the acquired data be interpreted by the independent organization, and that only the important engineering data be relayed to TxDOT. The systems examined were the NetForce global positioning system by Mezure, Inc. and the MicroSAFE autonomous data acquisition system for strain by Invocon, Inc. Each system was tested extensively in the laboratory and in the field. Both technologies were found to be viable for use by TxDOT. Each system is user-friendly, providing immediate return of meaningful engineering data with minimal effort on the part of TxDOT.