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Bridge structures are among the most important infrastructure. There are about 600,000 bridges in the US and about 75,000 in Canada. Bridges play a vital role in transportation industry, as they facilitate the transports of goods, as well as people. The construction of bridges has a long history, and goes back to centuries ago.

Bridge structures in North America have an average age of 40 years; they are rapidly nearing the end of their initial service life.  the repair and maintenance of these bridges are very important.

Non-Destructive Evaluation of Concrete Structures

How to Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo ?

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In this article, we will briefly present and discuss Impact-Echo (IE) method for testing concrete structures. The method has proven to be extremely useful in evaluating the thickness of concrete elements from one side (e.g. tunnel lining, culvert wall, bridge abutment), determining the depth and location of subsurface defects (e.g. cracks, voids, honeycombing, debonding) within concrete, and estimating the depth of surface-opening cracks. The test method was first adapted in… Read More »How to Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo ?

Diagnostic Load Testing of Bridges

Bridge Diagnostic Load Testing

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Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on telegram Share on whatsapp Share on email Load testing is a common practice among bridge engineers for the assessment of bridge safety and serviceability. Diagnostic load testing is one type of load test methods that can be used either as a means for estimating the load carrying capacity of an in-service bridge or as an acceptance test before the… Read More »Bridge Diagnostic Load Testing

Structural Health Monitoring for Bridge Structures

Structural Health Monitoring for Bridge Structures

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Structural Health Monitoring for Bridge Structures have the potential to collect significant amount of information about the damage state of various structural components at the global and element level.

Non-Destructive Testing for Detailed Bridge Condition Survey

Non-Destructive Testing for Detailed Bridge Condition Survey

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Bridges are among the most important infrastructure facilities. So far, the inspection and testing of bridge structures have largely been limited to visual inspection, chain dragging, extracting cores, and in some cases, half-cell corrosion potential mapping. Lots of interesting research have been done by researchers around the globe to bring more innovative NDT solutions to this sector. The following article focuses on the applications of most widely used non-destructive testing for… Read More »Non-Destructive Testing for Detailed Bridge Condition Survey

Why We Need Structural Health Monitoring?

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Why We Need Structural Health Monitoring? Owners and maintenance managers of capital-intensive assets are looking for cost-effective and reliable inspection and monitoring solutions to ensure safety and reliability of these structures. Modern design codes are now looking in a much longer service life. For example, The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (S6-14, 2014) considers a service life of 75 years for newly constructed bridges. One good example in this case… Read More »Why We Need Structural Health Monitoring?

the future of bridge inspection

The Future of Bridge Inspection

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The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (S6-14, 2014) considers a service life of 75 years for newly constructed bridge. What does this mean in engineering terms? It means that the bridges of the future should have satisfactory performance, both durability and structural, during the proposed life-cycle. This can be quite challenging when we look closely; the environment and environmental loading (i.e. snow, freeze and thaw cycles, corrosion, earthquakes, etc.) can… Read More »The Future of Bridge Inspection

How To Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo Method

How to Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo Method?

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In this article, we will briefly present and discuss Impact-Echo (IE) method for testing concrete structures. The concept behind the technique will be reviewed. We will also study the applications and limitation of the IE method and How to Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo Method.  The test method was adapted as a standard test procedure by the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM C1383) (1), “Standard Test Method for Measuring the P-Wave… Read More »How to Test Concrete Using Impact-Echo Method?

Non-Destructive Evaluation Bridge Abutments

How to Evaluate Bridge Abutments?

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In a bridge structure, abutment refers to the substructure unit which supports the end of the structure (bridge span) and retains the approach fill (see Ontario Structure Inspection Manual). Abutments are commonly made of mass concrete, reinforced concrete, or wood. Usually, abutments consist of a number of components: + Foundation + Abutment wall + Ballast wall + Wing walls + Bearing seats. (Image on the right: Adapted from OSIM, 2008) Abutments can… Read More »How to Evaluate Bridge Abutments?

Common Defects in Bridge Structures

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The collapse of Ponte Morandi in Genoa, Italy (read more) and Florida International University pedestrian bridge (read more) have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of existing and new bridge structures. common Defects in bridge structures can affect the overall safety of the bridge structures. Different deterioration mechanisms can lead to major defects. Exiting infrastructure in developed countries are nearing the end of their initial service life design. According to the… Read More »Common Defects in Bridge Structures

Estimate Strength of Concrete Using NDT Methods

How To Estimate Strength of Concrete Using NDT Methods?

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In this article, we will briefly review how to Estimate Strength of Concrete Using NDT Methods. Compressive strength of concrete is by far the most important property of concrete. It represents the mechanical properties of concrete; for example, the 28 days compressive strength of concrete cylinders is the key parameter in most design codes (ACI 318-14, CSA A23.3-14). Concrete strength is found to have reasonable relationship with certain durability parameters of concrete.… Read More »How To Estimate Strength of Concrete Using NDT Methods?