Real-Time Thermal Imaging-Based System for Asphalt Pavement Surface Distress Inspection and 3D Crack Profiling
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 35, Issue 1
Abstract
Infrared thermography is a cost-effective nonintrusive testing approach to assess surface and near-surface distresses, such as asphalt pavement surface cracks. However, the raw data collected by thermal cameras cannot be directly used for pavement surface distress inspection. Thus, advanced thermal image processing methods are desirable for extracting indicators of hidden flaws. The objective of this research was to develop an integrated system that combines infrared imaging, high-resolution visual imaging, real-time image processing, and data-rich analytics for automated inspection to support decision making for pavement preservative maintenance. This work developed a code that can integrate the characteristics captured by both thermal and visual images to provide a quantitative identification of the surface cracks and their severity. Field-test data were collected and a statistical analysis was conducted to correlate temperature gradient to the surface crack profile of asphalt pavement. It was found that the surface temperature distribution pattern has a direct correlation with pavement crack profile, and can be used as an indicator of crack depth. The proposed real-time thermal imaging-based system was found to be feasible for field inspection, and the three-dimensional (3D) crack profiling method can help produce fairly accurate measurements to enable fast and easy decision support for pavement preservation practices.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
References
ASTM. 2014. Standard test method for detecting delamination in bridge decks using infrared thermography. ASTM D4788-03. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bastard, C. L., V. Baltazart, Y. Wang, and J. Saillard. 2007. “Thin-pavement thickness estimation using GPR with high-resolution and superresolution methods.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 45 (8): 2511–2519. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2007.900982.
Golrokh, A. J., and Y. Lu. 2019. “An experimental study of the effects of climate conditions on thermography and pavement assessment.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2019.1656809.
Gucunski, G., S. Nazarian, D. Yuan, and D. Kutrubes. 2013. Nondestructive testing to identify concrete bridge deck deterioration.. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Halli, S. S., and K. Vaninadha Rao. 1992. Advanced techniques of population analysis. New York: Plenum Press.
Hiasa, S. 2016. “Investigation of infrared thermography for subsurface damage detection of concrete structures.” Doctoral dissertation, Dept. of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, Univ. of Central Florida.
Hiasa, S., R. Birgul, and F. N. Catbas. 2016. “Infrared thermography for civil structural assessment: Demonstrations with laboratory and field studies.” J. Civ. Struct. Health Monit. 6 (3): 619–636. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-016-0180-9.
Hiasa, S., R. Birgul, and F. N. Catbas. 2017. “Effect of defect size on subsurface defect detectability and defect depth estimation for concrete structures by infrared thermography.” J. Nondestruct. Eval. 36 (3): 57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-017-0435-3.
Ibarra-Castanedo, C. 2004. “Infrared image processing and data analysis.” Infrared Phys. Technol. 46 (1–2): 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2004.03.011.
Kaplan, H. 2007. Practical applications of infrared thermal sensing and imaging equipment. 3rd ed. Bellingham, WA: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Kashif Ur Rehman, S., Z. Ibrahim, S. A. Memon, and M. Jameel. 2016. “Nondestructive test methods for concrete bridges: A review.” Constr. Build. Mater. 107 (Mar): 58–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.011.
Kee, S.-H., T. Oh, J. S. Popovics, R. W. Arndt, and J. Zhu. 2012. “Nondestructive bridge deck testing with air-coupled impact-echo and infrared thermography.” J. Bridge Eng. 17 (6): 928–939. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000350.
Lu, Y., A. J. Golrokh, and M. A. Islam. 2017. Concrete pavement service condition assessment using infrared the thermography, 1–8. Cairo, Egypt: Hindawi Publications. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3829340.
Milovanovic, B., and I. Banjad Pečur. 2016. “Review of active IR thermography for detection and characterization of defects in reinforced concrete.” J. Imaging 2 (2): 11.
Minkina, W., and S. Dudzik. 2009. Infrared thermography: Errors and uncertainties. New York: Wiley.
Neal, J. C. 2016. The image processing handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Sham, F. C., N. Chen, and L. Long. 2008. “Surface crack detection by flash thermography on concrete surface.” Insight, Non-Destr. Test. Cond. Monit. 50 (5): 240–243. https://doi.org/10.1784/insi.2008.50.5.240.
Starnes, M. A., N. J. Carino, and E. A. Kausel. 2003. “Preliminary thermography studies for quality control of concrete structures strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer composites.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 15 (3): 266–273. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2003)15:3(266).
Szymanik, B., P. K. Frankowski, T. Chady, and C. R. A. John Chelliah. 2016. “Detection and inspection of steel bars in reinforced concrete structures using active infrared thermography with microwave excitation and eddy current sensors.” Sensors 16 (2): 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16020234.
Vaghefi, K., H. Silva, D. Harris, and T. Ahlborn. 2011. “Application of thermal IR imagery for concrete bridge inspection.” In Proc., National Bridge Conf., Herndon, VA: National Concrete Masonry Association.
Washer, G., R. Fenwick, and N. Bolleni. 2009. Development of hand-held thermographic inspection technologies.. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Dept. of Transportation.
Watase, A., R. Birgul, S. Hiasa, M. Matsumoto, K. Mitani, and F. N. Catbas. 2015. “Practical identification of favorable time windows for infrared thermography for concrete bridge evaluation.” Constr. Build. Mater. 101 (Dec): 1016–1030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.156.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 35 • Issue 1 • February 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 12, 2019
Accepted: Sep 18, 2020
Published online: Dec 7, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 7, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.