PSI - Issue 84

Marco Civera et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 1206–1213

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accelerometric acquisitions. The Dewesoft DAQ system, together with the auxiliary batteries to power the whole system, was placed in the vehicle’s trunk as well (Fig. 1 (c)).

Fig. 1: Prototype vehicle iBHM+ with example of positioning of an accelerometer (A), the GNSS antenna on the roof (B), the INS platform, DAQ, and battery system in the trunk (C), and a schematic axes direction of the accelerometers with respect to the vehicle reference system (D) A computer is also mounted on board and connected to the Dewesoft DAQ system via their commercial software to manage acquisitions. This software configuration enables starting and stopping recordings, configuring settings for all sensors, and storing collected data, all while driving. A dedicated software application for the INS platform is also used to correctly manage its data, again, while the EV moves. Overall, the onboard computer facilitates control and monitoring of the entire instrumentation system during field operations. The internal EV sensors accurately measure the tire pressure (in kPa), a non-negligible factor for indirect SHM, as their stiffness acts as a mechanical filter for the bridge deck’s vibrations transmitted through them. During the experimental tests described in the next Sections, tests using a smartphone placed directly on the dashboard were parallelly carried out, with the intent of replicating the interesting methodologies presented in the literature by (Matarazzo et al., 2022; Sadeghi Eshkevari et al., 2020). These mobile-based acquisitions were performed using the MATLAB Mobile app. 3. Experimental tests To test the performance of the iBHM+ mobile platform, two extensive experimental campaigns were conducted: one in January 2025 on four urban and rural river-crossing bridges in Turin and its neighbouring areas, and one in March 2025 on three highway viaducts along the Tangenziale di Napoli (Ta.Na., Naples, Italy). Please note that, during all the tests reported in the present document, to ensure safe operations and minimise interference, traffic was temporarily interrupted during data acquisitions. Hence, whenever not explicitly stated otherwise, it was possible to maintain the vehicle in the most external lane in both directions, ensuring repeatable trajectories and limiting the influence of lateral positioning. Future tests will also include passes with regular traffic conditions and traffic-induced vibrations. 3.1. Preliminary testing To gain prior insights into the instrumented vehicle's dynamic behaviour, a series of preliminary tests was conducted. The objective was to compare the vehicle's baseline vibrational response in known, controlled conditions outside the bridge, to distinguish its response from that of the bridges during the actual drive-by tests. The following