Recent advances in crack detection technologies for structures: a survey of 2022-2023 literature

Introduction Cracks, as structural defects or fractures in materials like concrete, asphalt, and metal, pose significant challenges to the stability and safety of various structures. Addressing crack detection is of paramount importance due to its implications for public safety, infrastructure integrity, maintenance costs, asset longevity, preventive maintenance, economic impact, and environmental considerations. Methods In this survey paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements and developments in crack detection technologies for structures, with a specific focus on articles published between 2022 and 2023. Our methodology involves an exhaustive search of the Scopus database using keywords related to crack detection and machine learning techniques. Among the 129 papers reviewed, 85 were closely aligned with our research focus. Results We explore datasets that underpin crack detection research, categorizing them as public datasets, papers with their own datasets, and those using a hybrid approach. The prevalence and usage patterns of public datasets are presented, highlighting datasets like Crack500, Crack Forest Dataset (CFD), and Deep Crack. Furthermore, papers employing proprietary datasets and those combining public and proprietary sources are examined. The survey comprehensively investigates the algorithms and methods utilized, encompassing CNN, YOLO, UNet, ResNet, and others, elucidating their contributions to crack detection. Evaluation metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and IoU are discussed in the context of assessing model performance. The results of the 85 papers are summarized, demonstrating advancements in crack detection accuracy, efficiency, and applicability. Discussion Notably, we observe a trend towards using modern and novel algorithms, such as Vision Transformers (ViT), and a shift away from traditional methods. The conclusion encapsulates the current state of crack detection research, highlighting the integration of multiple algorithms, expert models, and innovative data collection techniques. As a future direction, the adoption of emerging algorithms like ViT is suggested. This survey paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and engineers working in the field of crack detection, offering insights into the latest trends, methodologies, and challenges.