Automation of Concrete Bridge Deck Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation

Maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of concrete bridge decks substantially represent the highest expenditure in the overall cost of bridge management. However, the current practice of bridge deck condition assessment relies mostly on visual inspection and simple nondestructive evaluations using chain drag and hammer sounding. Advanced (NDE) techniques are being used, but their wide application has been held back due to the low speed and high cost of evaluation. In addition, significant expertise is needed in both the data collection and data analysis and interpretation. Two systems under development are presented. The first system is called ANDERS (Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Rehabilitation System) and concentrates on early problem detection and rehabilitation. The second system is RD2 (Robotic Deck Diagnostics) and concentrates on comprehensive condition assessment of concrete bridge decks.