Automatic Delamination Detection of Concrete Bridge Decks Using Impact Signals
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 6
Abstract
Delamination of the concrete cover above the upper reinforcing bars is a common problem in concrete bridge decks. Acoustic nondestructive evaluation is widely used to detect such delamination because of its low cost, fast speed, and ease of implementation. The accuracy of traditional acoustic approaches is dependent on the level of ambient noise, and the detection process is highly subjective. An automatic impact-based delamination detection (AIDD) system is described in this paper. In this system, the traffic noise is eliminated by a modified version of independent component analysis. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients are then used as features for detection to eliminate subjectivity. The delamination detection is performed by a radial basis function neural network. The AIDD system was developed using mixed-language programming in MATLAB, LabVIEW, and C++. The performance of the system was evaluated using data from two bridges, and the results were satisfactory.
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Acknowledgments
This research was sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The authors would like to thank the project manager, Steve Kahl, and all members of the research advisory panel for their input related to this research. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of MDOT.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 17 • Issue 6 • November 2012
Pages: 951 - 954
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 30, 2011
Accepted: Oct 12, 2011
Published online: Oct 14, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2012
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