- The company has installed a network of sensors to monitor the corrosion of an operational viaduct on the A-2 highway in Guadalajara as part of the European PANOPTIS innovation project.
- The sensors will monitor the state of corrosion of reinforced concrete structures in real time, allowing early warnings to be generated to remotely analyse the durability of critical infrastructures and determine how long the structure can remain in service.
ACCIONA has installed the first network of remote sensors in Spain to monitor the corrosion of an operational viaduct on a section of the A-2 highway, managed by the company under a concession arrangement. The viaduct, which passes over the highway, was constructed in the 1980s using precast and pre-stressed beams that are now showing significant deterioration due to the salts used on the road during the winter.
The installation project has been designed and coordinated by ACCIONA’s engineering area in collaboration with its concessions business and infrastructure maintenance area. The “CORROCHIP” remote corrosion monitoring system has been designed and patented by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, which was the subcontractor responsible for the installation.
The main purpose of installing these types of sensors is to monitor the state of corrosion of reinforced concrete structures in real time, allowing early warnings to be generated so that the durability of critical infrastructures can be continuously and remotely analysed and to determine how long these structures can remain in service.
Furthermore, these sensors generate significant savings in terms of maintenance and conservation work on transport infrastructures, making it feasible to carry out minor works instead of large-scale and costly repairs thanks to the ability to anticipate structural damage and failures, and more importantly, preventing potential accidents.
The installation of this network of sensors was carried out as part of the PANOPTIS smart highways innovation project in which ACCIONA is involved, designing and implementing a range of technologies to monitor and digitise 70 km of concession road of the A-2 highway in the province of Guadalajara.