Thermalpas field deployment (Taiwan) · Transportation
Suspension bridge: 24 cable monitoring points, three years in service
Pipe-clamp thermometers for suspension-cable structural-health monitoring.
- 24Monitoring points
- 3 yrsIn operation
- Non-destructivePipe-clamp install
The problem
A suspension bridge cable carries enormous tension and endures daily thermal cycling, wind load and corrosion. Over decades, the steel strands inside slowly fatigue. Classical structural-health monitoring uses embedded strain gauges that are hard to install on an existing bridge and harder to replace, and full SHM systems cost tens of millions — out of reach for smaller bridges.
What was installed
Thermalpas L-TYPE pipe-clamp thermometers, paired with strain gauges, were wrapped around the suspension cables from the outside. Small temperature changes correlate with internal stress and structural damping; a cable temperature anomaly — internal friction heat — is treated as a precursor of strand failure and flagged before any visible change.
The outcome
A local-government suspension bridge deployed 24 monitoring points, at a fraction of the cost of a conventional SHM system ($30M+), and has operated for three years. The data has informed the owner's maintenance schedule and validated a non-destructive way to monitor a heavy civil structure.
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