Erallo Technologies, a wireless sensor networks and remote monitoring solutions provider for real-time surveillance, reporting and detection for industry and defense applications, has received a Phase II SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) contract worth $730,000 from the US Army Contracting and Bridge Engineering team and the Department of Defense.
The contract has been awarded for the development of a smart sensor monitoring system for the US Army’s Line of Communications Bridges.
The research is aimed at developing a structural-health monitoring system capable of identifying and quantifying structural damages such as micro-cracks, and to determine the remaining life for crossings across the bridge. The bridge monitoring system will aid warfighters by preventing prolonged exposure in hostile attacks during time consuming and thorough bridge inspections. This will help guarantee the safe crossing of vehicles and heavy equipment.
The purpose of the monitoring system is to identify any structural damage that might have been missed during routine visual inspection and to accurately record the weight and volume of traffic passing the bridge. Stain gauge sensors will capture real-time data and the information is analyzed by the system, processed using algorithms and mathematical models to identify the micro-cracks and subsequently determine the “remaining life” of the bridge.
The sensor system is being developed by Erallo Technologies will operate as a low-maintenance, low-power and low-cost bridge health monitoring system. It is jointly developed by the West Virginia University’s Constructed Facilities Center. The center specializes in damage detection systems, structural evaluation algorithms and bridges.
The Director of the Constructed Facilities Center, Dr. Hota GangaRao stated that the remote monitoring system will help in the early evaluation of a bridge system and identify the cracks faster than visual inspections, which are subjective, time consuming and expose soldiers for extended periods in hostile environments.
Source: http://www.erallo.com