Finite element modeling for infrared thermography of GFRP bridge decks

Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite bridge decks are increasingly being used as replacements for old concrete decks and for new construction. The service performance of the GFRP bridge decks can be adversely affected by the formation of debonds between the wearing surface and the underlying bridge deck. Past experimental studies by the authors have shown the usefulness of the infrared thermography technique in detecting the subsurface debonds prior to maintenance and rehabilitation work This paper investigates the use of finite element (FE) heat transfer modeling to predict infrared thermography images from GFRP bridge decks with subsurface debonds. The paper includes measurement of thermal properties of the GFRP bridge deck and the wearing surface, and heat transfer FE modeling of decks with debonds of different thicknesses. The results show that FE modeling can be a useful tool for predicting surface temperature profile under different heating conditions and debond sizes. Such predictions can help determine the required heat intensity and detectable debond sizes prior to experimental data acquisition in the field using an infrared camera.