Sometimes, it is impossible to install a sensor on a certain location of a structure due to the size of a structure or poor surrounding environments. Even if possible, sensors can be frequently malfunctioned or improperly operated due to lack of adequate maintenance. These kind of problems are solved by the virtual sensing methods in various engineering fields. Virtual sensing technology is a technology that can measure data even though there is no physical sensor. It is expected that this technology can be also applied to the construction field effectively. In this study, a virtual sensing technology based on ARX model is proposed. An ARX model is defined by using the simulated data through a structural analysis rather than by actually measured data. The ARX-based virtual sensing model can be applied to estimate unmeasured response using a transfer function that defines the relationship between two point data. In this study, a simulation and experimental study were carried out to examine the proposed virtual sensing method with a laboratory test on a cable-stayed model bridge. Acceleration measured at a girder is transformed to estimate a cable tension through the ARX model-based virtual sensing.

The method based on various mathematical characteristic equations for identifying tensile forces in the cable structure system are used as response data to reflect the properties of the dynamic sensitivity. The vibration tests have been conducted with respect to levels of applied weight for the sagged cable. In this study, a set of natural frequencies are extracted from the measured dynamic data. Next, existing characteristic equation methods based these extracted natural frequencies are applied to identify tensil forces of the sagged cable system. Through several verification procedures, the proposed methods could be applied to a sagged cable system when the initial material data are insufficiency.