Early detection of damaged bridges with price sensors only ... 1 USD!

Can a bad bridge be detected early to make a timely decision before it collapses? American scientists are studying a sensor that can do this. Interestingly, the estimated cost of the sensor is only . 1 USD! This is a study at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of California.

This type of sensor has the ability to predict the risk for a sufficient period of time for regulatory authorities to take necessary measures: Stop using the bridge or repair or maintain before the bridge collapses! According to the research team, this type of sensor is about the size of a credit card and costs only $ 1 per unit.

These electronic sensors will be operated by ultra-short waves or solar energy, and will send signals to the computer by radio telemetry. They have the ability to detect charges generated by pressure on components, such as reinforced concrete blocks.

The electronic sensor will detect the charge emitted from the pressure on the components of the bridge.As a result, it warns of an early risk of damage to bridges (Photo: AP, Washingtonpost)

Currently, the team is trying to integrate sensors with microprocessors and radio telemetry systems. The goal is to have those sensors act as independent monitoring devices.

Radio sensors are being implemented at the University of Michigan and Stanford, while research on bridge monitoring techniques is underway at Drexel University.

One of the major difficulties at present is the problem of providing energy for active sensors. Experts are considering the possibility of using remote control helicopters to transmit wave pulses to power the sensor system, while receiving and transmitting data from the system to the aircraft.

Another possibility is to use an airplane to project sunlight through a lens into the energy receiving system on the sensor.

View of the 35W bridge connecting Minneapolis and St.Paul crossed the Mississippi River, the US collapsed on August 1 (Photo: AP)

According to the team, aircraft sensors and power supplies will be tested in September this year in a bridge 10 miles north of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Sponsored by the US $ 400,000 / year, the research team is entering the second year of this 4-year research project. They expect the first sensors to be available in the market in a few years.

Quang Thinh