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High Speed Rail IDEA Project 57 [Completed (IDEA)]
Steel Bridge Pile Inspection Technology
| Project Data |
| Funds: |
$50,000 |
| Effective Date: |
7/17/2007 |
| Fiscal Year: |
2007 |
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This is a project to evaluate the use of long-range ultrasound technology for the inspection of steel bridge pile. Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMATs) will be mounted on a bridge pile. One EMAT would inject ultrasonic energy into the pile and another would receive signals reflected back from wall loss from corrosion. Analysis of the reflected signals will be performed to determine the extent to which this approach can characterize wall loss, including the area and depth of material loss due to corrosion. The concept is expected to work on pile submerged in water, soil, and mud. This technology is currently used to inspect underground pipelines. Project tasks include the design and fabrication of prototype EMATs for this application, development of the performance requirements in terms of minimum area and thickness of corrosion losses the system would need to detect (in consultation with Norfolk Southern bridge personnel), lab tests of prototype EMATs mounted on H-pile specimens with simulated defects machined into the specimens, and field testing of the prototypes, including pile submerged in water. Norfolk Southern Bridges in Alabama and Mississippi have been visually inspected by the project team as part of the performance specification process. These site visits are currently being used to document an H-Pile inspection handbook. NTIS number PB2010-101383.
The final report for this IDEA project can be found at:
https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/IDEA/FinalReports/HighSpeedRail/HSR-57Final_Report.pdf
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