Infrastructure is subject to continuous ageing. This has given life cycle management of infrastructure an increasing role. Reliable inspection and monitoring tools are therefore an increasing demand. A combination of different non-destructive test methods is often necessary to receive reliable results for material characterization,
flaw detection and the determination of component specific geometry parameters.
Regarding concrete structures thickness measurements are combined with flaw detection and additional information about reinforcement and tendon ducts is required.
Therefore, a multi-sensor measurement approach is necessary with a high degree of automation. Otherwise a time consuming succession of manual measurements has to be performed which would prevent practical applications. A modular control and data acquisition approach is described and the application of two different automated measurement devices is shown. The BetoScan system consists of a self-navigating
mobile robot. The system is especially designed for the investigation of reinforced concrete floors exposed to de-icing salts. The data acquisition of the OSSCAR system a multi-sensor scanner is similar to the robot approach. These different applications are based on a similar kernel allowing the modular use of different contact and noncontact sensors. The described general concept of multi-sensor data acquisition and data analysis presented here is not limited to the field of civil engineering applications.
Bestandsaufnahme und Zustandsanalyse von Brücken und Parkhäusern mit automatisierten Verfahren
(2010)
Anhand eines erfolgreichen Messeinsatzes an einer Spannbetonbrücke, deren Querspannglieder zuverlässig lokalisiert und nachfolgend instandgesetzt werden sollen, wird die Vorgehensweise der Radarmessung mit zwei verschiedenen Polarisationsrichtungen der Antenne zur Unterscheidung von unterschiedlichen Arten der Bewehrungen ausführlich erklärt. Das Radarverfahren eignet sich sehr gut für die zerstörungsfreie Ortung von Bewehrung in Stahlbetonbauwerken. Insbesondere lässt sich mit dem Verfahren vorgespannte Bewehrung bis in einer Tiefe von ca. 30 cm und bei einem normalen Bewehrungsgrad (Maschenweite >10 cm) der schlaffen Bewehrung zuverlässig auffinden. Seit einigen Jahren wird das Radarverfahren erfolgreich im Vorfeld einer schadensfreien Kernbohrung im Rahmen von Ertüchtigungsmaßnahmen von Stahlbetonbrücken mit externen Spanngliedern angewendet. Aufgrund der Lage und dem Verlauf der vorgespannten Bewehrung in Hohlkastenseitenwänden und Plattenbalken kann eine vorgespannte Bewehrung von schlaffer Bewehrung in diesen Bauwerken sehr gut unterschieden werden. Diese Unterscheidungsmerkmale lassen sich aber bei Querspanngliedern in einer Fahrbahnplatte nur selten anwenden, da häufig die Überdeckung und der Abstand der schlaffen Bewehrung und der Querspannglieder ähnlich sind. In diesem Beitrag wird beschrieben, wie der gezielte Einsatz verschiedener Polarisationsrichtungen der Antenne zu einer zuverlässigen Unterscheidung von schlaffer Bewehrung und Spanngliedern beiträgt und damit zu einer verbesserten bildgebenden Darstellung der inneren Konstruktion der Fahrbahnplatte führt.
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.
The introduction of an innovative process for non-destructive testing is described in terms of its different phases and how the process is controlled in the Fraunhofer IZFP in order to obtain optimal results. Examples are discussed of applications by IZFP in various important and safety-relevant industrial sectors where the automated inspection systems were introduced. These case studies include the inspection of railway components such as the wheel sets of the German high-speed train and in-line pipe inspection by using intelligent pipeline inspection gauges. Complex inspection systems, both hardware and software, developed in partnership with the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Inspection (BAM), were applied to inspection tasks in civil engineering. Two automated systems based on a robot and on a flexible manipulation are presented. Both systems can be applied to diverse inspection technologies and to the data fusion of various types of non-destructive testing (NDT) data.
For the assessmentand for monitoring of timber structures there are numerous promising methods that enable the quantitative description of the current condition of construction elements or parts of a structure. This concerns material properties like modulus of elasticity, moisture content and density as well as structural properties like dynamic characteristics, localization of inhomogeneities, cracks, and biological attack. During the work in COST Action FP 1101, since 2012 the capability of experimental methods are discussed and compared. This covers electrical and electromagnetic wave methods (resistivity, microwave, Radar, X-Ray), elastic waves (ultrasound, pile testing) and mechanical testing (static and dynamic). Describing and collecting the use of the experimental methods for monitoring purposes was the objective of working group 3 "Monitoring of Timber Structures" of the COST Action. Monitoring capabilities will extend the use of timber structures to further applications in civil engineering. So far, no standard exists but collections of application examples and review papers representing the state of the art. From there needs for further developments regarding monitoring and NDT methods for timber structures can be identified and these are described in this paper.