- CAIT Main
- Infrastructure Areas
- Program Sites
- EEP - Environment and Energy Program
- FMP - Freight and Maritime Program
- ICMP - Infrastructure Condition Monitoring Program
- IMG - Information Management Group
- LPS - Laboratory for Port Security
- LTBP - Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
- NJ LTAP - NJ Local Technical Assistance Program
- PRP - Pavement Resource Program
- PSSP - Pipeline Safety and Security Program
- SAM - Structures and Advanced Materials
- SSML - Soil and Sediment Management Laboratory
- TSRC - Transportation Safety Resource Center
- TTG - Technology Transfer Group
- Training
- Events
- Research
- Education
Facilities & Equipment
ICMP has invested more than $1 million in NDE laboratory and field equipment for condition assessment and monitoring of transportation infrastructure.
- Ground penetrating radar (GPR)—air coupled 1 GHz, ground coupled 400 and 1500 MHz—for pavement evaluation, utility mapping, and project-level surveys
- 3D GPR for NDE of bridges, pavements, runways, and utilities anomaly detection
- Seismic Pavement Analyzer (SPA) for pavement evaluation
- Portable Seismic Property Analyzers (PSPA) for bridge deck and pavement material evaluation
Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR) is used to measure thickness of pavement layers, identify quality of bridge decks, and locate buried objects. GPR uses pulses of electromagnetic energy that are fired from an antenna into the ground or structure. The pulse travels through the material being scanned until it reaches a change in material. When the pulse encounters a change, a portion of the energy is reflected back to the antenna, and a portion of the energy continues to travel through the structure. It is this reflection phenomenon that allows radar images to be created. The GPR antenna may be resting directly on the surface to get very detailed surveys or mounted above the ground for faster surveys.
3D GPR consists of an array of 31 separate step-frequency antennas that fire pulses into the target material. This antenna array scans an eight-foot swath of pavement or bridge in a single pass. (Typical GPR units scan only a few inches width.) This arrangement offers several advantages over the single frequency antennas described above. The images can be presented as slices of a 3D cube representing the bridge deck volume or pavement subsurface.
Seismic Pavement Analyzer (SPA) is used for concrete and asphalt. This device can evaluate and describe the pavement structure in terms of pavement layer material properties and thickness. It can also detect problems in the pavement associated with material degradation, loss of support, presence of voids or debonding between pavement layers. SPA uses a suite of seismic methods for its evaluation. SPA was developed as a part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP).
Portable Seismic Property Analyzer (PSPA) is used for both material characterization and defect detection in pavements and bridge decks. Material characterization by PSPA can be conducted on both bound pavement layers (like asphalt and concrete), and soil-type materials (e.g., aggregates). One of the main applications of PSPA is to detect deterioration/defects in concrete bridge decks.
FACILITIES
ICMP occupies more than 1,200 square feet of dedicated lab and office space at Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.
RESOURCE LEVERAGING
In addition to dedicated space at Rutgers, ICMP is working in partnership, supporting the operations of the NDE Laboratory at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia.