Abstract
Considerable research into the area of bridge health monitoring has been undertaken; however, information is still lacking on the effects of certain defects, such as moisture ingress, on the results of ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying. In this paper, this issue will be addressed by examining the results of a GPR bridge survey, specifically the effect of moisture in the predicted position of the rebars. It was found that moisture ingress alters the radargram to indicate distortion or skewing of the steel reinforcements, when in fact destructive testing was able to confirm that no such distortion or skewing had occurred. Additionally, split-spectrum processing with order statistic filters was utilized to detect moisture ingress from the GPR raw data.
Highlights
Bridges undoubtedly form a vital part of every community’s economy and mobility
Applying split-spectrum processing (SSP) in ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey data combined with order statistic filters improves the signal-to-noise ratio of backscattered signals
GPR was chosen as a technique for further analysis as it is widely used in the bridge health monitoring industry as a means to identify hidden defects within a structure
Summary
Bridges undoubtedly form a vital part of every community’s economy and mobility. It is of great importance that they are maintained within the structure of lifelong service planning in a way that is fit for purpose and cost effective.Different bridges inevitably require different means of gaining information relating to the structure’s health, but one certainty is the need for the most appropriate technique to be selected for each structure and for operators of the systems to be adequately trained in their use. There are various non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques commercially available for use in the area of the health monitoring and assessment of bridges, including: radiography and radiometry, sonic, ultrasonic and Remote Sens. The method of radiometry measures the amount of energy which has passed through the material, which relates to the density of the material. This is done with a radiation detector situated behind the test element. Transportation of the equipment for the γ-ray radiation method is easier than for X-ray radiography as it is not heavy and requires no external power
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