Fast Force Estimation of Cable Structures Using Smartphone-Captured Video and Template Matching Algorithm

Cables are important components of long-span bridge structures, whose operation is significantly affected by cable force changes. Nowadays, cable force testing is performed by physical methods; that is, sensors are installed on the cable structure to monitor its force changes. Obviously, this strategy requires an extensive amount of time to achieve cable force calculation, which makes it impossible to monitor the force of the cable structure in real time. Meanwhile, smartphones have attracted extensive attention in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) because of their higher cost-effectiveness than accelerometers, which include price and lifespan. Besides, many people own a smartphone, which leads to the possibility of a wider range of applications. Therefore, this paper presents a framework for the rapid estimation of the cable force of long-span bridges based on smartphones-captured video and a template matching algorithm. First, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method with wavelet decomposition (WD) method, that is, the EMDWD model, is constructed to extract the vibration signal of the bridge cable by eliminating the effects of smartphone vibration and environmental noise on the measured dynamic displacement, thus effectively improving the accuracy of data processing. In addition, the vibration identification model of bridge cable based on a template matching algorithm is established, and the deformation curve of cable is obtained. Finally, the frequency of bridge suspender is calculated by the Fourier transform method (FFT), and the cable force is estimated based on the smartphone-captured video.