PAL Provides Severn River Crossing with AE Monitoring for Long-Term Evaluation of Suspension Bridge Cables


Princeton Junction, NJ - July 2008 - Physical Acoustics Limited
(PAL), an international division of MISTRAS Group, Inc., has teamed
up with Severn River Crossing (SRC) and the Highways Agency to
monitor the main cables of the M48 Severn Suspension Bridge, which
links England to South Wales in the UK.

The M48 Severn Suspension Bridge, which opened in September 1966,
has recently undergone invasive investigation of the main cable that
revealed corrosion in the individual steel wires and a small number of
broken wires. As part of a range of measures to safeguard the
structure, which include the installation of a main cable
dehumidification system, SRC appointed PAL to supply and install a
full Acoustic Emission (AE) wire-break detection system over the
whole 1673 meters of each cable.

The acoustic monitoring system listens continuously for sounds from
individual wires within the main cable, to keep track of the rate and
location of any further wire breaks. The Physical Acoustics
monitoring system will enhance the ability of the Highways Agency to
evaluate the health of this structure and to pinpoint regions that
might require further invasive cable investigation, currently
programmed to take place in 2010. This work is all part of the effort by the Highways Agency and Severn
River Crossing to ensure the continued integrity and safety of the M48 Severn Bridge.

The monitoring system uses 90 acoustic emission sensors attached to cable clamps every 36m along the
cable. These passive sensors detect and amplify signals from within the main cable, which are then
processed automatically by one of six local "Sensor Highway" systems distributed along the bridge on an
optic fibre network. The use of distributed monitoring systems significantly reduces the amount of cabling
required, and installation cost and weight. The six Sensor Highway systems are synchronized and report to
a "base-station" on the network. This further processes the data and automatically reports the time and
location of potential wire breaks through a secure website by email, enabling very efficient, low cost,
long term monitoring.

AE is a global non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and structural integrity monitoring technique. A key
advantage of the method is its ability to detect and locate only active flaws, making it a prime candidate
for real-time continuous health monitoring of highway bridges. This method is also able to direct local
NDT straight to potential problem areas, while ignoring inactive flaws that are not a threat to integrity.

Physical Acoustics Ltd installed the monitoring system with subcontract services from CAN Structures Ltd,
EPL Access, DCI Electrics Ltd and Electra-Net (UK) Ltd. Physical Acoustics Ltd offers a wide range of structural monitoring services to bridge and structural
engineers which includes fatigue assessment, concrete microfracture and post tension in concrete wire
break detection. Monitoring techniques used include Acoustic Emission, vibration, displacement, rotation,
strain and temperature. Non destructive testing techniques practiced by Physical Acoustics include
ultrasonics (A-scan, B-Scan, C-scan, TOFD, and shear wave), ACFM, eddy current, and Impact Echo.

Physical Acoustics Ltd is part of the MISTRAS Group Inc., which provides nondestructive testing products
and services under the brand names of CONAM Inspection & Engineering Services Inc., Physical Acoustics
Corporation, Code Services, Quality Services Laboratories Inc., Caliber Inspection, PRI, NDT Automation,
Controlled Vibrations Inc. and Vibra-Metrics.

MISTRAS Group, Inc. provides nondestructive testing products and services under well-known industryrecognized
brand names including CONAM Inspection and Engineering Services Inc., Physical Acoustics
Corporation, and Vibra-Metrics as well as regional or product specific brand names. MISTRAS Group offers
asset inspection and mechanical integrity solutions to the oil & gas, power generation, aerospace,
infrastructure and manufacturing sectors as well as strategic on-line instrumentation that facilitates plant
asset management. In addition, MISTRAS provides enterprise solution software that aids in the safe and
profitable operation of industrial facilities worldwide.

For more information, please contact the Marketing Department at 609-716-4000 or via email at
sales@pacndt.com.

Group Headquarters:
195 Clarksville Road
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Phone: (609) 716-4000 Fax: (609) 716-0706
www.mistrasgroup.com

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