TY - CONF A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert T1 - A toolbox with non-destructive testing methods for the condition assessment of railway bridges N2 - The unified economic structure of the European market requires a unified transport infrastructure to ensure seamless and barrierfree transportation of passengers and goods. The European commission is funding the European Integrated Project Sustainable Bridges to comply with future traffic demands. The main objective of the project is to reliably assess and upgrade the bridge infrastructure for the required increase of axle loads and transport volume. 32 Institutes from 12 countries develop unified procedures for the assessment and improvement of the existing railway bridge stock under the guidance and review of six major European railway companies. Non destructive testing (NDT) is given a high priority. One of the work packages concentrates on the potential of advanced NDT-methods and creates a toolbox with advisable methods for the condition assessment of all types of railway bridges. Although NDT-methods are implemented in the quality assurance process in many industries, their application in the railway infrastructure is not common. Only a few countries have included selected NDT-methods into advanced condition assessment procedures for the management of their bridge stock. This paper describes also current activities to enhance pulse-phase thermography, impulse-radar and acoustic methods. The advanced methods enable infrastructure owners to verify construction plans, to assess structures, repair and strengthening quality or to identify in-service damages. Latest development is an automated scanning system for combined acoustic and electromagnetic measurements. The results are then combined through data fusion techniques to further increase their value for the bridge owners. T2 - 85th TRB Annual Meeting CY - Washington, DC, USA DA - 2006-01-22 KW - Non-Destructive Testing KW - Thermography KW - Railway Bridges KW - NDT-toolbox PY - 2006 SP - 1 EP - 12(?) PB - TRB CY - Washington, D.C. AN - OPUS4-12037 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wolf, Julia A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Milmann, Boris A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Köpp, Christian A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert A1 - Kurz, J.H. A1 - Moryson, R.M. A1 - Samokrutov, A. A1 - Alekhin, S. G. A1 - Alver, Ninel A1 - Sazak, H.Ö. T1 - An ultrasound monitoring system for concrete structures N2 - The research project "Ultrasonic Net for Concrete Monitoring (UNeCOM)" aims at developing a methodology for an embedded ultrasonic network for the condition assessment of infrastructure constructions. Civil engineering structures made of concrete, which are located in tectonically active regions or undergo special loading conditions, may require continuous monitoring. It is important to assess the condition of the building and its stability to recognise and classify the effect of a seismic event or evolving damage at early stages before failure occurs. Embedded ultrasonic sensors offer the possibility to detect changes in the material and degradation mechanisms from inside the structure in areas which are difficult or impossible to inspect otherwise. In contrast to conventional ultrasonic testing methods, where the concrete surfaces are scanned with ultrasound probes, this new approach uses sensors, which are embedded into concrete, eliminating the effect of variable coupling conditions between sensors and concrete. This method allows an integral detection of changes in the concrete structure, for example due to seismic activities, to detect mechanical impacts, as well as degradation of the material due to overloading. Such methods have great relevance especially for the monitoring of constructions like power plants, bridges, offshore structures and other structures with high technical safety requirements. The sensor network can be controlled remotely through the internet which is also being used for data transfer. The embedded sensor network is designed to monitor structural damage and concrete degradation globally with high sensitivity. T2 - Istanbul bridge conference 2014 CY - Istanbul, Turkey DA - 11.08.2014 KW - Ultrasound KW - Concrete KW - Monitoring PY - 2014 SN - 978-605-64131-6-2 SP - Paper 32, 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-32028 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Streicher, Doreen A1 - Stoppel, Markus A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert ED - Forde, M. T1 - Automated non-destructive investigation of railway bridge condition T2 - 11th International Conference and Exhibiton "Structural Faults and Repair - 2006" CY - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK DA - 2006-06-13 KW - Non-Destructive Testing KW - Automated scanning device KW - Combination of methods KW - Ultrasonic-echo KW - Impact-echo KW - Impulse radar PY - 2006 SN - 0-947644-59-8 SP - 1 EP - 8(?) PB - Engineering Technics Pr., CY - Edingburgh AN - OPUS4-12530 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Algernon, Daniel A1 - Streicher, Doreen A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert T1 - Bridge inspection and condition assessment in Europe T2 - TRB 87th annual meeting CY - Washington, D.C., USA DA - 2008-01-13 KW - Construction KW - Environment and Energy PY - 2008 IS - CD-ROM (Paper 08-1450 / Session 568) SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - TRB CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-16651 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Milmann, Boris A1 - Adam, Louisa A1 - Villalobos, S. A1 - Guimaraes, M. A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert T1 - Detection of cracks perpendicular to the surface using acoustic methods N2 - Cracks perpendicular to the surface may be initial indicators for a deterioration process of concrete structures. Moisture penetrates inside the structure and transports adverse chemicals. The paper presents an investigation about the reliability of available commercial non-destructive evaluation techniques to reliably estimate the depth of surface-breaking cracks in reinforced concrete structures. Aim of the study was the investigation of surface-braking cracks under laboratory conditions. Commercial acoustic devices as impact echo equipment, single ultrasonic transducers and arrays were applied even if they have not been developed for this purpose. The commercial software and descriptions for application was followed strictly to compare the function, precision and repeatability of the measurements. Both, perpendicular notches and cracks have been considered. The study was completed with a discussion about reference specimens. The study was the basis for formulation of gaps in research. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has initiated and funded a Project. T2 - NDT-CE 2015 - International symposium non-destructive testing in civil engineering CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 15.09.2015 KW - Acoustic test KW - Commercial acoustic devices KW - Ultrasonic test KW - Crack depth KW - Concrete specimens PY - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-345729 UR - https://www.ndt.net/?id=18412 SN - 1435-4934 VL - 20 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - NDT.net CY - Kirchwald AN - OPUS4-34572 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert T1 - Non-destructive testing of concrete structures T2 - 4th International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (ICAMEM2008) CY - Sousse, Tunisia DA - 2008-12-16 KW - Non-destructive testing KW - Civil engineering KW - Inspection KW - Knowledge transfer KW - Case study PY - 2008 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-18655 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Krause, Martin A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Taffe, Alexander A1 - Wilsch, Gerd ED - Naus, D. T1 - Non-destructive Testing of Nuclear Power Plant Concrete Structures State of the Art Report N2 - Nuclear Power Plants have been in operation for ca. 50 years. Based on this experience, non-destructive testing tasks specific to thick and highly reinforced nuclear containment structures have materialized. The performance based Service life extension of existing NPPs also needs a measurement based decision to support continuing the service of the concrete part of the installations. By nature, concrete is a very durable material and any natural Deterioration processes may take a long time to become critical to the structure. The experience of more than 50 years of service limits the testing tasks to a few ones which are not yet solved. Research in NDT of concrete structures is performed by many research institutions all over the world with different technical and systematic approaches. Results are mainly obtained on laboratory specimens, sometimes additional field studies are reported. This research takes place independently without coordination and as a result, the outcomes mostly lack full comparability. Software for data analysis has become indispensable and very powerful. This part of testing needs more attention when it comes to evaluate test results. Validation of NDE solutions is becoming a critical part in concrete structure testing. Validation is by definition the proof that a customer´s requirements in the test are being met by the testing solution. This includes equipment, personnel qualification and data analysis. In the following tables, the research recommendation Validation is used in the sense, that proof of the performance of existing solutions needs to be adressed. In general, a validation methodology for NDE solutions for concrete testing in itself needs to be researched and established. Comparability of research also needs an accepted and easily accessible reference. From experience, it is almost impossible to manufacture exact copies of test specimens at different locations. Round Robin tests are therefore needed to evaluate the performance of a test. Data evaluation is generally done using dedicated software, sometimes Hardware dependant and not interchangeable between systems. Software is ever more increasingly becoming more powerful and sophisticated. An in-depth evaluation needs to address the comparability and validation of Software used for data analysis and evaluation. The vision of a unified software pool for NDE investigations would undoubtedly support research tremendously. Quantitative NDE is mostly recommended to assess the condition of a structure. However, qualitative data can be very useful, especially for processes which change the material properties or deteriorate the structure (e.g. corrosion of reinforcement). The need for reliable baseline data is a key factor for such monitoring tasks. KW - Nuclear structures KW - Non-destructive testing KW - State of the art KW - Research needs PY - 2013 SP - 1 EP - 120 PB - BAM CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-51049 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Stoppel, Markus A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert ED - Mencik, J. T1 - The role of advanced non-destructive techniques in condition assessment of existing bridges T2 - 2nd International Conference "Reliability, Safety and Diagnostics of Transport Structures and Means 2005" CY - Parduce, Czech Republic DA - 2005-07-07 KW - Condition assessment KW - Non-destructive testing (NDT) KW - Scanning system KW - Impulse radar KW - Ultrasonic echo KW - Impact echo KW - Active thermography KW - LIBS PY - 2005 SN - 80-7194-769-5 SP - 111 EP - 118 PB - University of Pardubice CY - Pardubice AN - OPUS4-7695 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert ED - Cruz, P. ED - Frangopol, D. T1 - Trends in bridge condition assessment using non-destructive testing methods T2 - Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management, Life-Cycle Performance and Cost CY - Porto, Portugal DA - 2006-07-16 KW - NDT KW - Condition assessment KW - Automation of measurement KW - Data fusion PY - 2006 SN - 0-415-40315-4 N1 - Serientitel: Balkema proceedings and monographs in engineering, water and earth sciences – Series title: Balkema proceedings and monographs in engineering, water and earth sciences SP - 933 EP - 934 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London AN - OPUS4-14037 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -