Distributed Monitoring Solutions or Bridge Monitoring Systems on Large Scale Constructions application note provided by our partner DEWESoft.
The DEWESoft® EtherCAT® (ECAT) solutions have already become standard in distributed, industrial monitoring applications. But when we are talking about monitoring the HongKong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, “distributed” becomes a whole new dimension.
Introduction on a Bridge Monitoring System
With a total length of 50 km, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is the longest sea bridge in the world. One part of this monument’s structural health monitoring system is the measurement of tri-axial accelerometers at the navigation spans. The purpose is to detect the occurrence of the ships impacting as well as to determine the global dynamic characteristics of the structure’s viaduct bridges.
Requirements for Bridge Monitoring System
The Hong Kong part of the HZMB, 200 requires the highest precision acceleration channels over several kilometres. These channels group into six independent subsystems (DAU 1. DAU 6) as shown below.
DAU subsystem data stores locally in parallel to a database engine that runs on a central server.
Main requirements:
- Fully remote controlled system operation
- Synchronisation accuracy between each DAU: better than 1 msec (10 µs within each DAU)
- Aliasing free acquisition over complete sampling range (up to 10kS/sec)
- ADC resolution ≥ 24Bit with 0.1 % basic accuracy.
- Requires a DAQ system (±15 Volt) Sensor.
Solution
The performance of the Sirius EtherCAT® slice model: SIRIUSie-8xLV fits perfectly to the used sensor.
For the long distances between the slices to each DAU and the mixed network topology (daisy chain and star) the connection possibilities of our ECAT families was expanded:
- The low latency EtherCAT® to Fibre optic converter (ADAPTER-OPTIC-ECAT) allows expansion of the distance over several kilometres.
- Up to 8 EtherCAT® lines can connect to a dedicated EtherCAT® hub (ECAT-HUB-8).
NTP-Sync provides synchronisation between the DAU’s.
Conclusion
Feel safe when driving from Hong Kong to Macao or vice versa. This bridge uses the world’s most accurate distributed DAQ system: SIRIUS EtherCAT®.
Contact us to find out more information.