The Apulia Aqueduct monitoring, that passes over the Pertusillo Viaduct, is now operational!

Project summary

SOCOTEC Italia is a company specialized in providing monitoring and solidity check for civil, industrial and energetic infrastructure. The company has developed a solid experience in structural safety assestment of bridges, viaducts and other major civil works.  

SOCOTEC Italia's photonics division has installed a monitoring network on the Pertusillo Viaduct, which is a civil engineering work covering the historic Apulian aqueduct. The structure, in fact, ensures the daily supply of water to more than 4 million people and 246 municipalities in the region. 

Project details

To ensure the safety of the Pertusillo Viaduct and the historic aqueduct that runs through it, the photonics division installed 21 fiber optic sensors FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) and a SmartFox 3.0 interrogator, made by SOCOTEC Italy. These sensors detect any variations and changes in the structure of the viaduct and aqueduct, providing valuable data to the engineers in charge to verifying their strength. 

Fiber-optic sensors were chosen because they offer several advantages than other structural monitoring technologies. In particular, they are resistant to adverse weather and water conditions, allow continuous data’s cataloging and have long-term durability. They also have a low environmental impact, as they are less polluting than copper cables and are powered by photovoltaic panels. 

The monitoring of the Pertusillo Viaduct and the historic Apulian aqueduct is a project of great importance to SOCOTEC Italy, which is constantly striving to ensure the safety of the infrastructure and the people who use it.