Optimal reduction from an initial sensor deployment along the deck of a cable-stayed bridge

The ambient vibration measurement is an output-data-only dynamic testing where natural excitations are represented, for instance, by winds and typhoons. The modal identification involving output-only measurements requires the use of specific modal identification techniques. This paper presents the application of a reliable method (the Stochastic Subspace Identification – SSI) implemented in a general purpose software. As a criterion toward the robustness of identified modes, a bio-inspired optimization algorithm, with a highly nonlinear objective function, is introduced in order to find the optimal deployment of a reduced number of sensors across a large civil engineering structure for the validation of its modal identification. The Ting Kau Bridge (TKB), one of the longest cable-stayed bridges situated in Hong Kong, is chosen as a case study. The results show that the proposed method catches eigenvalues and eigenvectors even for a reduced number of sensors, without any significant loss of accuracy.