Comprehensive condition assessment of bridge decks by multimodal NDE

Corrosion induced bridge deck delamination is a common problem in reinforced concrete decks. While condition assessment can be done using a number of traditional and NDE methods, the presented study concentrates on a complementary use of five NDE techniques: impact echo (IE), ground penetrating radar (GPR), half-cell potential (H-C), ultrasonic surface waves (USW) and electrical resistivity (ER). Each of the five techniques has its advantages and limitations. However, each of them can contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of the condition of a deck. For example, GPR can identify deteriorated bridge deck areas, while IE can accurately detect and characterize delaminations in the deck. USW, on the other hand, provides information about material degradation through a measurement of concrete elastic moduli. Finally, H-C will provide information about the likelihood for active corrosion, while ER will assess potential for corrosive environment. There are also secondary benefits of the use of the five techniques, like e. g. mapping of concrete cover from GPR surveys. A brief overview of the techniques and their complementary use illustrated by the results from deck testing on several bridges is presented. The presented surveys were conducted on both decks (typical thickness 7 to 9 inches) and slabs (typical thickness 14-20 inches), some with an additional PC overlay. Results include delamination maps from IE, attenuation maps from GPR, modulus distribution maps from USW, H-C potential maps, and resistivity maps from ER. Some of the results are validated through a series of "ground truth" measurements, like inspection of cores taken from the decks.