Researchers in Texas are cranking up an elaborate array of acoustic sensors on a cable-stayed bridge to "listen" for the sounds of hidden damage as it occurs.
The Fred Hartman Bridge, a 2,214-ft-long, twin-deck, eight-lane structure crossing the Houston Ship Channel in Bayport, has been fitted with 600 acoustic sensors to study the cables. The installation and monitoring of the system, called SoundPrint, is by Pure Technologies US Inc., Columbia, Md.