Assessment of post tensioned concrete bridges applying automated non-destructive testing systems
(2005)
Results of reconstructed and fused NDT-data measured in the laboratory and on-site at bridges
(2006)
Non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures plays an increasing role in civil engineering. This paper presents the results of measurements carried out in the laboratory at BAM and on-site at several bridges using reconstructed and fused radar and ultrasonic echo data sets. In this context different scanning systems, developed for the on-site application of NDT-methods (e.g. reinforced concrete bridges) are introduced. The main object was the demonstration of the improved effectiveness of radar and ultrasonic pulse echo technique due to the automated measurements and the application of new software for the data processing and data visualisation. The results of these measurements show the high potential of reconstruction and data fusion for the improvement and simplification of the interpretability of large data sets measured with impulse-echo methods.
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.