Gill Instruments’ WindSonic Wind Sensor Increases Bridge Safety in North Florida

The Gill WindSonic ultrasonic wind speed and direction sensor is being used as part of a new traffic network designed to improve safety on bridges in North Florida, with sensors installed on 22 bridges. Wind data from each structure feeds the traffic management system, so that warnings can be issued to high-sided or vulnerable vehicles when conditions demand it, and a bridge can be closed if the wind warrants it.

Why bridges measure wind

Bridge structures, and the traffic crossing them, are vulnerable to wind. The height above ground and the design of the structure mean that wind at deck level is often stronger than at ground level, so bridge applications monitor both wind speed and direction. Where the vertical component matters, for cable vibration, wind loading on vehicles or structural twisting of the deck, a 3-axis sensor is used as well.

Why a solid-state sensor

For transport safety the requirement is a robust 2-axis anemometer that keeps reporting through years of exposure without a maintenance visit, since access to a sensor on a bridge usually means a lane closure. WindSonic has no moving parts to wear, seize or foul, and reports wind speed and direction continuously to the control system. For extremely high wind speed sites the stainless steel WindObserver is used in the same role.

Gill sensors on bridges worldwide

Gill 2-axis sensors monitor wind on bridges including the Niantic River Amtrak bridge in Connecticut and the Fore River Bridge in Quincy, Massachusetts. Gill 3-axis anemometers are installed on the Millennium Bridge in London, the Severn crossing, the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Svinesund Bridge between Sweden and Norway, the Incheon Grand Bridge in Korea, the Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia and the Millau Viaduct in France.

The full write-up, with the measurement requirement, the installation and what was learned, is in the application note Wind measurement on bridges.

Originally published on gillinstruments.com, 19 July 2012.

This story is from 19 July 2012. The application still stands, but the products named may have been superseded. See the current WindSonic range.