Date of Award

4-2005

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Civil and Construction Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Osama Abudayyeh

Second Advisor

Dr. Sherif Yehia

Third Advisor

Dr. Ikhlas Abdel-Qader

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The transportation infrastructure in the United States is deteriorating and will require significant improvements. A recent report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave an overall grading of D+ to the nation's infrastructure. Approximately 162,000 of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The total estimated cost to bring conditions to acceptable levels over the next two decades would exceed $1.9 trillion. Consequently, innovations in the area of transportation infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation are key to the health and wellness of this valuable national asset.

A major component of maintenance and rehabilitation is the ability to accurately assess the condition of the transportation infrastructure. This can be accomplished in part by using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. NDE can verify the integrity of a structure or any of its components without compromising its ability to perform in service. NDE techniques used for concrete bridge decks are studied The three most appropriate methods are selected for further study and verification with literature. An experimental study is designed and cases mimicking concrete bridge decks defects such as voids, delaminations, and cracks are presented.

The results of the study showed that Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Impact Echo (IE), and Thermography (IR) are promising methods for the detection of potential problems in concrete bridge decks.

Share

COinS