Structural health monitoring of concrete constructions using BIM and non-destructive techniques

Abstract

Structural health monitoring of a concrete construction is addressed in order to make a damage assessment. Different methods are proposed to associate to the 3D model all the information collected on the structures, specially designed for the case of concrete structures and adapted to the type of information to be associated. The aim is to achieve a model with the information linked in a more visual and easily accessible way. Non-destructive techniques are used for the internal and external characterization of the construction. For the internal characterization, a pachometer is used to locate the reinforcing bars, a sclerometer test and an ultrasonic test are performed. For the external characterization, a 3D laser scanning is performed to obtain the geometry and an exhaustive visual inspection is carried out. From the point cloud, a 3D BIM model is obtained with all the associated information that graphically reflects the state of structural health of the building. The pathologies of the structure are identified by means of the point cloud and the visual inspection. By using and combining all these techniques together with the BIM methodology it is possible to have a damage control over time in this type of structures. The case study focuses on the stairs that give access to one of the buildings of the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Vigo.