Investigating damage detection via short-term ambient rotation monitoring campaigns

Short-term monitoring campaigns can enable rapid assessment of bridge structural condition without the need for prolonged instrumentation and monitoring periods; however, environmental and operational variability can obscure damage. We present a method that uses quasi-static rotation measurements from both the end-of-span and quarter-span points; by applying the Earth Movers' Distance to identify shifts in rotation amplitude distributions across these multiple sensor locations, we can identify how the presence of damage changes the expected statistical relationships among the measured rotations. Numerical simulations show robustness against temperature variations and traffic conditions, including vehicle type, load, and speed. This method demonstrates the potential to provide a practical and flexible solution for conducting targeted, short-term monitoring campaigns to facilitate quicker, data-informed decisions for infrastructure management and maintenance.