Evaluation of a permanent SHM system performance in detecting damage scenarios considering runnability thresholds

In this work the authors present an investigation of the capability of a permanent monitoring system to detect the presence of damages that would lead to an exceedance of the structural thresholds imposed by design specifications. The target structure is a double-span steel truss railway bridge, located in Italy and currently instrumented with an in-situ monitoring system. Thanks to a FE model of the longest span, a set of damage scenarios can be simulated, identifying damage entities that lead to the exceedance of thresholds imposed in terms of runability assessment, considering deck and/or track geometry. In particular, the paper discusses the capability of tiltmeters to detect such damage scenarios.