Interaction of ultrasonic waves with partially-closed cracks in concrete structures

Interaction of ultrasonic waves with partially-closed surface-breaking cracks in concrete structures has been studied. Measurements have been conducted on a reinforced concrete beam containing various mechanical-load-induced cracks and compared with the baseline measurements at those locations. Influence of crack width, incident angle of waves...

Fatigue crack sizing in steel bridge decks using ultrasonic guided waves

A baseline-free quantitative sizing methodology utilizing ultrasonic guided waves for fatigue cracks under welded stiffeners in steel bridge decks has been developed. An inverse wavefield extrapolation based formulation for obtaining the crack reflectivity and depth profile has been presented in the kernel of which, the presence of welded...

Influence of asphalt on fatigue crack monitoring in steel bridge decks using guided waves

Asphalt materials generally exhibit temperature-dependent properties, which can influence the performance of fatigue crack inspection and monitoring systems for bridge deck structures. For a non-intrusive fatigue crack sizing methodology applied to steel decks using ultrasonic guided waves, the effect of asphalt has been investigated. A higher...

Fatigue crack identification and lifetime prediction for steel bridge deck structures

Fatigue, as the governing degradation mechanism in steel bridge decks, can lead to non-inspectable cracks under the welded intersections of stiffeners to the deck plate. As a result, estimation of the remaining service life and optimization of the maintenance program of steel bridge decks become a great challenge. A comprehensive structural...

Acoustic emission health monitoring of steel bridges

Despite extensive developments in the field of Acoustic Emission (AE) for monitoring fatigue cracks in steel structures, the implementation of AE systems for large-scale bridges is hindered by limitations associated with instrumentation costs and signal processing complexities. This paper sheds light on some of the most important challenges in...

Multidisciplinary health monitoring of a steel bridge deck structure

Fatigue cracks in orthotropic bridge decks are an important cause for the necessary renovation of existing bridges. Parallel utilization of various technologies based on different physical sensing principles can potentially maximize the efficiency of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for these complex structures. A multidisciplinary SHM...