Damage Identification in RC Beams Using Internal Electrical Resistivity Measurements

Abstract

Special structures such as bridges, nuclear and power plants, etc, have unique importance. These strategic structures age and degrade with time. Previously, visual inspection was the main tool for following such structures' degradation. Recently, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is used by the industry as a viable technique to obtain continuous realtime data about the safety and serviceability of vital structures. Moreover, measuring electrical resistivity is a low cost, simple, efficient method that has received recent attention in terms of SHM. The objective of this study is to use electrical resistivity measurements in SHM of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams. An experimental program is conducted to study the effect of crack initiation and propagation in RC beams on Inner Electrical Resistivity Measurements (IERM) when beams are loaded by the three-point bending test. The results show that the technique is effective in detecting cracks and can be extended to global SHM of RC structures.