Standardization construction and development trend of bridge health monitoring systems in China

Bridge health monitoring (BHM) technology has been widely accepted as a powerful tool to assess structural performance and has moved from research to practice. Driven by the enormous demand of ensuring bridge safety, the application of BHM technology is particularly active in China and has become an emerging industry in the civil engineering community. It is a common belief among civil engineers that the development and implementation of industry standards will be of paramount importance in guiding the healthy development of BHM and increasing the transfer of professional knowledge and techniques to practical applications. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the standardization construction and development trend for BHM in China. The achievements, characteristics, and challenges of China's bridge construction are first introduced. Then, the existing problems of BHM and the necessity of constructing the standardization system for the BHM industry are discussed. Following that, these standards published for guiding BHM system design, construction, management, and maintenance, especially sensor selection, sensor placement, sensor installation, data transmission, data storage, data processing, and early warning, are outlined. Finally, work requiring further efforts in the near future is drawn.