Nondestructive Evaluation of Four Sister Bridges in Virginia Using Manual NDE Technologies and Robotic Platform RABIT
CAIT project no.: CAIT-UTC-059
Fiscal Year: 2014/2015
Status: Final
Rutgers-CAIT Author(s): Hooman Parvardeh, Patrick Szary, Ph.D., Nenad Gucunkski, Ph.D.
External Author(s): Hoda Azari
Sponsor(s): FHWA - RITA, FHWA - Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center
Within this research project, condition assessment of the four bridges in Virginia will be conducted using manual NDE technologies as well as the robotic platform RABIT™. The following NDE methods will be used in both the automated and manual testing: Impact Echo, Ultrasonic Surface Waves, Ground Penetrating Radar and Electrical Resistivity method. The data collected from all the technologies will be analyzed and the results presented in terms of condition maps and calculated condition indices. Similarly, data related to the speed and cost of data collection using the two approaches will be recorded and analyzed. A report of detailing the comparisons will be generated. In addition, conclusions will be drawn on different aspect of performance of these bridges, as well as the deployed NDE technologies.