Non-destructive and effective bridge monitoring through fast-falling weight deflectometer

Recent collapses due to hydrogeological soil instability caused by extreme climate events recall the attention on a large-scale monitoring of the road infrastructures, particularly bridges and viaducts. Several studies focus the attention on both hydraulic and structural issues. In-depth systematic investigations do not suit this purpose because of time and cost investments usually carried out from local authorities. Increasing needs of available fast, low cost and reliable methods to investigate the performance of the road and bridges pushed towards new applications. The use of Fast-Falling Weight Deflectometer, conceived for airport pavements, is here applied as a non-destructive test to evaluate the stiffness of the deck and embankment of a bridge. The-Fast Falling Weight Deflectometer can produce a broadband, constant and replicable dynamic force, providing data in real time. An experimental campaign is here described on a case study of single span bridge.