Visualization of active crack on bridge in use by mechanoluminescent sensor

Innovative mechanoluminescent (ML) particles emit light repeatedly in response to small stresses applied, such as deformation, friction, or impact. When dispersedly coated on a structure, each particle acts as a sensitive mechanical sensor, while the 2-dimentional emission pattern of the whole assembly reflects well the dynamical stress distribution inside the structure and mechanical information around crack and defect. Thus, we have applied the remarkable strong points of ML sensing technique to a bridge in use as a real social structure for the first time. For the first ML monitoring test at bridge, we selected a relatively old bridge (established in 1954, 3-span continuous T-type RC bridge, length 24.4 m, width: 7.89 m). The ML sheet type sensors were put around the central area (700×400 mm) of the main girder, and ML images originated from dynamic load application via general traffic vehicles had recorded by using lab-made CCD camera under roughly dark condition. As the result, we successfully detected intense ML patterns not only along visible crack but also at round soundless part on the girder at a glance with responding ML intensity reflecting the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) of visible crack and invisible progressing microcrack.