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An Activity of SHRP 2 Renewal Project R06-A: NDT Technologies for Bridge Deck Deterioration Detection
The research team conducting the SHRP 2 R06-A project on “NDT Technologies for Concrete Bridge Deck Deterioration Detection” is inviting interested teams to participate in the NDT technology validation testing that will take place in the fall of 2010. The primary objective of the SHRP 2 R06-A project is to identify NDT technologies that can effectively detect and characterize deterioration in bridge decks. The research team has already identified NDT technologies that have potential to identify and characterize concrete deck deterioration. The team has also, based on a thorough literature review, evaluated the strengths and limitations of applicable NDT technologies from the perspective of speed, accuracy, precision, and ease of use. However, the performance of those technologies requires objective validation.

Objective
The objective of the validation testing will be to evaluate, compare, and rank the promising technologies from the perspective of five performance measures: accuracy, repeatability, speed, ease of use, and cost. The following technologies were identified as having potential for concrete bridge deck deterioration detection: impact echo, ultrasonic pulse velocity, ultrasonic pulse echo, half-cell potential, impulse response, ultrasonic surface waves, ground-penetrating radar, chain drag/hammer sounding, electrical resistivity, infrared thermography, and galvanostatic pulse measurement. However, new and emerging technologies are also of interest. Results from the validation testing will be the basis for the research team to:

1. Recommend NDT technologies and test procedures and protocols for their most effective application, and
2. Develop a repository of NDT technologies for practitioners.

Field and Laboratory Evaluations
The validation testing will have two components: evaluation under controlled laboratory conditions and field evaluation on actual bridge decks. While numerous deterioration types can occur in concrete bridge decks, the validation testing will concentrate on detection and characterization of the following four types: delamination, corrosion, vertical cracking and concrete deterioration. The controlled laboratory validation includes evaluation on concrete slabs with artificially introduced deterioration and defects and a section of a deck removed from a highway bridge. The laboratory validation will concentrate on the evaluation of accuracy and repeatability of the NDT technologies. The field testing will be conducted in coordination with the FHWA’s Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program. Since the field validation will enable the testing under actual, production-level conditions, evaluation of technologies will concentrate on the speed, ease of use, repeatability, and cost.

Contact Information
The success of validation testing depends on a wide participation of: manufacturers of NDT equipment and software, service providers, research institutions, consultants and others. Therefore, we encourage all potential participants to contact the research team at the e-mail address Gucunski@rci.rutgers.edu by September 10, 2010. Detailed information regarding the goals, conduct of the testing, reporting of the results, as well as validation and reporting of the summarized results by the research team will be provided.

 

 

   

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