Automated and Standardized Nondestructive Evaluation of Bridge Decks Using "insight" System

Abstract

A common form of deterioration in reinforced concrete bridge decks is corrosion induced deck delamination that is invisible during visual inspection. Current evaluation techniques rely on visual, chain drag and manual NDE technics. Due to inefficient data collection, processing, analysis and interpretation, these manual evaluation techniques cannot provide a thorough evaluation of the structure’s condition. The presented study focuses on a novel NDE solution called “insight” which has brought artificial intelligence, robotic automation, autonomous driving and many more advanced technologies to nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks and other concrete structures. By doing so, comprehensive NDE projects can take place with higher speeds and spatial resolution, in more cost-effective and efficient manners resulting in more widespread and affordable projects. The Infratek insight solution consists of two platforms, the High Definition (HD) and the High Speed (HS). For the HD platform, results include delamination maps from Impact Echo (IE), attenuation (depth corrected amplitude) and cover depth maps from Ground-Coupled Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), modulus distribution maps from Ultrasonic Surface Waves (USW), and resistivity maps from Electrical Resistivity (ER). ER and GPR are used to assess the corrosion potential throughout the bridge deck. IE is the primary delamination evaluation tool, while USW enables evaluation of concrete degradation through a modulus measurement. For the HS platform, results include delamination maps from automated high-speed sounding and infrared thermography (IR), attenuation (depth corrected) amplitude and cover depth maps from air-coupled GPR, crack mapped bridge deck image from cameras coupled with machine learning crack mapping technics, surface profiles from laser profilers and additional beneficial information from 360 imaging, and LiDAR. Furthermore, the results are analyzed in a holistic approach using all the collected NDE data. Maps and data-driven recommendations are portrayed in an interactive web portal with options to generate standard inspection and other custom reports.