Using readily available SHM data to gain insights into the dynamic behaviour of bridges

Structural health monitoring (SHM) data can be useful in aiding decision making for structures. This is particularly insightful for bridges as visual inspections are the main method of inspection, but these methods can potentially miss faults that are not visible. SHM systems are generally bespoke systems, designed for individual bridges with the resulting data only applicable to that bridge. Potentially, this process can be enhanced by considering a population of bridge SHM data, a method called Population-based SHM (PBSHM). Often, collecting SHM data is time consuming and costly, resulting in a lack of data to facilitate comparisons between structures and thus limiting the amount of available SHM data. The research presented in this paper is aimed at determining what information is available to access and investigating if any useful/reliable insights can be drawn from the information with simple and accessible methods. It is concluded that only limited insight can be drawn due to the diversity of bridges found in the 17 studies.