Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/423872
Players in the precast sector like Armtec Infrastructure Inc. are seeing a greater emphasis in its project mix on bridges this year compared to 2013, which entailed more parking garages, retail buildings and natural resource infrastructure. The company has also had a number of light rail transit projects in recent years, says Ken Pensack, sales director for engineered structures at Armtec. Getting a handle on the probable lifes- pan of a bridge, however, has become easier thanks to the advent of wireless strain gauges. These devices measure how much a concrete or steel structure deforms under a load. The monitoring that wireless gauges allow enables an engineer to determine more easily the remaining lifespan of a structure. "There can be dozens, even hundreds of these gauges used to model the defor- mation on a large bridge. The wire- less technology is making it easier to model and monitor in real time and see what's happening with structures under stress. If you do continuous monitoring, you capture every overloading event," The overhead concrete guideway segments for the Evergreen Line in Vancouver, B.C. were precast at an off-site facility. Courtesy Armtec. december 2014 /27 concrete