Automated Acoustic Scanning System for Delamination Detection in Concrete Bridge Decks
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 23, Issue 6
Abstract
In this study, an automated acoustic scanning system was developed for rapid delamination detection on concrete bridge decks. A new ball-chain impact source was designed by combining the advantages of chain-drag (rapid testing speed) and impact-echo tests (analysis in the frequency domain). Conventional steel link chains and the new ball chains were investigated as acoustic excitation sources. Acoustic signals were processed by short-time Fourier transform (STFT) in the frequency range 0.5–5 kHz. Compared with the conventional chain-drag test, the ball-chain results show better signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), higher sensitivity, and repeatability to delamination identification. The automated scanning system includes excitation sources (ball chains), acoustic sensors (microphones), a geographic positioning system (GPS), data acquisition (oscilloscope), and a signal-processing algorithm. Acoustic scanning results are integrated with positioning data to generate an image of the scanned area in a map view. The system was validated in the field on a concrete bridge deck and was found to show satisfactory accuracy, efficiency, and repeatability.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT). The Bridge Division of the NDOT is gratefully acknowledged for support during the field test.
References
Cheng, C., and Sansalone, M. (1993). “The impact-echo response of concrete plates containing delaminations: Numerical, experimental and field studies.” Mater. Struct., 26(5), 274–285.
Costley, R. D., and Boudreaux, G. M. (2003). “Finding delaminations in concrete bridge decks.” Proc., 146th ASA Meeting, Acoutical Society of America, Melville, NY.
Gucunski, N., Yan, M., Wang, Z., Fang, T., and Maher, A. (2012). “Rapid bridge deck condition assessment using three-dimensional visualization of impact echo data.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 12–24.
Kee, S.-H., and Gucunski, N., (2016). “Interpretation of flexural vibration modes from impact-echo testing.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 04016009.
Kee, S.-H., Oh, T., Popovics, J. S., Arndt, R. W., and Zhu, J. (2012). “Nondestructive bridge deck testing with air-coupled impact-echo and infrared thermography.” J. Bridge Eng., 928–939.
LabVIEW [Computer software]. National Instruments, Austin, TX.
Mazzeo, B. A., Larsen, J., McElderry, J., and Guthrie, W. S. (2017). “Rapid multichannel impact-echo scanning of concrete bridge decks from a continuously moving platform.” AIP Conf. Proc., 1806(1), 080003.
Oh, T., Kee, S.-H., Arndt, R. W., Popovics, J. S., and Zhu, J. (2013). “Comparison of NDT methods for assessment of a concrete bridge deck.” J. Eng. Mech., 305–314.
Sansalone, M. J., and Streett, W. B. (1997). Impact-echo. Nondestructive evaluation of concrete and masonry, Bullbrier, Jersey Shore, PA.
Sun, H., Zhu, J., and Ham S., (2017). “Acoustic evaluation of concrete delaminations using ball-chain impact excitation.” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 141(5), 477–481.
Zhang, G., Harichandran, R. S., and Ramuhalli, P. (2012). “An automatic impact-based delamination detection system for concrete bridge decks.” NDT and E Int., 45(1), 120–127.
Zhu, J., and Popovics J. S. (2007). “Imaging concrete structures using air-coupled impact-echo.” J. Eng. Mech., 628–640.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 23 • Issue 6 • June 2018
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 7, 2017
Accepted: Nov 30, 2017
Published online: Mar 19, 2018
Published in print: Jun 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Aug 19, 2018
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.