HERMES: a high-speed radar imaging system for inspection of bridge decks
Corrosion of rebar in concrete bridges causes subsurface cracks and is a major cause of structural degradation that necessitates repair or replacement. Early detection of corrosion effects can limit the location and extent of necessary repairs, while providing long-term information about the infrastructure status. Most current detection methods, however, are destructive of the road surface and require closing or restricting traffic while the tests are performed. A ground-penetrating radar imaging system has been designed and developed that will perform the nondestructive evaluation of road-bed cracking at traffic speeds; i.e., without the need to restrict traffic flow. The first-generation system (called the HERMES bridge inspector), consists of an offset-linear array of 64 impulse radar transceivers and associated electronics housed in a trailer. Computers in the trailer and in the towing vehicle control the data acquisition, processing, and display. Cross-road resolution is three centimeters at up to 30 cm in depth, while down-road resolution depends on speed; 3 cm below 20 mph up to 8 cm at 50 mph. A two-meter- wide path is inspected on each pass over the roadway. This paper, describes the design of this system, shows preliminary results, and lays out its deployment schedule.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Transportation, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 496105
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-125478; CONF-961219-4; ON: DE97053171
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), Scottsdale, AZ (United States), 4-5 Dec 1996; Other Information: PBD: 26 Oct 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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