Bridge diagnosis at 55 mph

Technical Report · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/8173· OSTI ID:8173

Azevedo, S ^[1]

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1. LLNL

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has helped sponsor a research project at Lawrence Livermore that produced a beneficial new tool as well as an R&D 100 Award. The HERMES Bridge Inspector will provide an invaluable capability to diagnose the problems of deteriorating bridge decks and do it accurately, efficiently, nondestructively, and, perhaps most important to motorists, without closing bridges. Almost 30% of 600,000 large highway bridges in the U.S. are classified "deficient" by the FHWA, and HERMES can make a significant contribution toward solving the problem of infrastructure assessment and repair. With further development, HERMES holds promise for other concrete inspection problems, such as railroads, tunnels, and runways. HERMES, or High-performance Electromagnetic Roadway Mapping and Evaluation System, is a radar-based sensing system mounted in a trailer. It can be pulled by a vehicle at traffic speeds over a bridge deck to collect information about the roadway subsurface -- its sensors gathering data 30 centimeters or more into concrete. An onboard computer system processes the data into three-dimensional images that pinpoint problems in the roadway concrete and give engineers quantitative information about deterioration in the bridge deck. Engineers can then better assess what repairs or reconstruction is necessary and avoid the cost overruns and delays that result from inexact problem diagnoses.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 8173
• Report Number(s): UCRL-ID-132495; ON: DE00008173
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
Bridges
Inspection
Radar