Over the past 10 years, ground-based radar interferometry has become a frequently used technology for determining dynamic deflections of bridge structures induced by vehicle passages. When measuring with only one radar device, the so-called Interpretation Error (EI) considerably rises. When using two radars, it is possible to simultaneously determine, for example, vertical and longitudinal displacements and to eliminate the Interpretation Error. The aim of the article is to establish a suitable strategy for determining dynamic and quasi-static response of bridge structures based on the accuracy analysis of measurement by two radars. The necessary theory for displacements determination by means of two radar devices is presented. This is followed by an analysis of errors when measuring with only one radar. For the first time in the literature, mathematical formulas are derived here for determining the accuracy of the resulting displacements by simultaneous measurement with two radars. The practical examples of bridge structures displacements determination by measuring with two radar devices in the field are presented. The key contribution of the paper is the possibility to estimate and plan in advance the achievable accuracy of the resulting displacements for the given radar configurations in relation to the bridge structure.

Ground-based radar interferometry (GBRI) with ground-based real aperture radar (GB-RAR) is most often used for monitoring vertical deflections of bridge structures caused by vehicle passages. This paper presents an experimental determining of the horizontal dynamic movements of water tower reservoirs by GB-RAR. Determining the dynamic movements of water tower reservoirs is more complicated precisely because the movement of the reservoir is influenced not only by external influences, such as wind, but also by the movement of water mass in the reservoir. The resulting oscillation is then a composite oscillation of multiple frequencies. Next, in the case of routine determination of vertical deflections of bridge structures, it is reasonable to assume a predominant deflection of the structure in this one particular direction. But in the case of tower structures such as reservoirs, it is necessary to assume their movements (oscillations) in the entire horizontal plane. The movements can be circular, elliptical, straight, spiral, or even completely irregular. This means using at least two radars to simultaneously determine 2D movements (in both perpendicular directions of the horizontal plane). In the optimal case, the radars aim at the monitored object in approximately perpendicular directions to each other, and the resulting motion vectors in the horizontal plane are calculated from LOS measurements. The processing of measurements from both radars raises other problems, namely accurate time synchronization of radar measurements. In case of tower structures, time synchronization cannot be solved by coincidence of oscillation amplitude peaks, since the peaks from different radar views may not occur simultaneously. Therefore, alternative solution is offered in this contribution. Purpose of this contribution is to design and verify a procedure for accurate determination of horizontal movements of tower reservoirs with sufficiently accurate oscillation characteristics. The procedure was experimentally verified in practice on a real water reservoir in central Bohemia. The results of the experiment confirm the expected benefits of simultaneous measurements by two radars for determining horizontal dynamic movements of water tower reservoirs by GB-RAR.

The paper presents an experimental dynamic analysis of the existing road bridge across the Labe river at Valy village in the Czech Republic. The observed structure is a bridge with 6 spans 23.1 m, 31.5 m, 84.0 m, 31.5 m and 23.1 m long. The horizontal load-bearing structure is a composite structure with two main steel girders and a lower reinforced concrete deck. The load-bearing structure is reinforced in the main span by the arch, this structural system is also called the Langer beam. The experiment was realized in three stages. The first one was performed in May 2020 before its opening, the second stage of the described experiment was realized in August 2020 and the third one was carried out in April 2021. The main purpose of the first stage was to determine in detail the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the whole bridge horizontal load-bearing structure also including the arch. The electrodynamic shaker, that was located on the bridge deck in the quarter of the main bridge span, was used for excitation of the bridge vibration. The measured characteristics of the natural vibration were compared with the calculated ones. Based on this comparison, the theoretical bridge model was verified. Basic objective of the second experiment stage was to verify new approach to dynamic response measurement – radar interferometry realized by two synchronized radars. The vibrations of the bridge caused by the standard road traffic and also by pedestrians were observed concurrently by both radar interferometry and classical approach realized by high sensitive piezoelectric accelerometers. The experiment was focused on the main span of the bridge only and the levels of forced vibration were observed primarily. However, the fundamental natural frequencies were also evaluated. The third stage was carried out by classical approach only. Again, the bridge vibration caused by the usual road traffic and pedestrians were measured in the main bridge span only because this section of the bridge was the most dynamically sensitive. Again, the levels of forced vibration were observed and the fundamental natural frequencies were determined. The evaluated natural frequencies from all three experiment stages were consequently compared.

Recent advances in radar systems have led to the development of radar interferometry (RI) methods for contactless vibration monitoring of large-scale structures, i.e. bridges, water tower reservoirs, and factory chimneys. Interferometric radars are devices capable to measure with 200 Hz sampling frequency and relative movement precision of 0.1 mm up to 0.01 mm. The major part of this paper describes an in-situ footbridge experiment near Hradec Králové. Radar interferometry devices were deployed along with ordinary techniques compounded by accelerometers, wiring, and acquisition station. Experiment was focused on the evaluation of basic dynamic structural properties such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. A lot of attention was also given to the result comparison of these measurement methods. Test results have confirmed the applicability of RI for bridge vibration monitoring.