Ambient vibration monitoring of slender structures by microwave interferometer remote sensing

This paper examines the potential of microwave radar interferometry for monitoring the dynamic behaviour of large civil engineering works. It provides an overview of the method, its principles of operation with particular emphasis given on the IBIS-S system. Two areas of application are considered and the results of the analyses are presented and discussed. The first experimental study involves the monitoring of the dynamic response of a tall power plant chimney due to wind load. The second example examines the dynamic behaviour of a long cable-stayed bridge. In this case, the focus is placed on the effects that individual traffic events impose on the vibration response of the main span of the bridge deck and the bridge pylons. Analysis of the results provides detailed displacement time-histories and the dominant frequencies observed at the top of the chimney and along the bridge deck and the top of the towers. Also, cross-comparisons and discussions with the results obtained at the same structures using different sensor configurations are provided.