Design and Performance Research of a New Type of Spherical Force-Measuring Bearing of Bridges Based on Button Type Microsensor

To realize the real-time monitoring and evaluation of the bearing state such as force and deformation, and to meet the intelligent development needs of “self-sensing and self-evaluation” of engineering structures, this paper carried out a finite element simulation of the mechanical properties of spherical bearings and developed a new type of spherical force-measuring bearing based on the button type microsensors through the integration of structural monitoring technology. The simulation results show that the von Mises stress of the spherical bearing is mainly concentrated in the annular region where the edge of the spherical crown is located, and the magnitude of the force value decreases from the edge to the center gradually. The performance characteristics of spherical force-measuring bearings based on the button-type microsensor were studied by combining finite element simulation and experiments. The research results show that the sensitivity of this type of sensor is stable, and the growth trend of the measurement data is ideal with small dispersion, which is in line with the distribution law of the bearing internal force. The temperature loading test was carried out to study the effect of temperature on the bearing measurement accuracy. The fixed force value obtains the relationship between strain and temperature, and the minimum value method is proposed to calculate the temperature compensation coefficient and temperature compensation equation by fitting the slope of a straight line to improve the measurement accuracy of the sensor. Therefore, the research results have good value for engineering applications.