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NDEOnline self-study

NDE for Concrete Decks: GPR, Half-Cell and Impact-Echo

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-N01 · Instructor: Michael Craig, PE

About the instructor

Michael Craig, PE is Senior Vice President and Southeast Director at Strinteg Corporation, leading bridge inspection and structural engineering across eight states and Puerto Rico. In 27+ years he has inspected over 4,000 structures and completed 3,000+ load ratings and 160+ load tests. He has managed repair and preservation design for complex bridges, including cable-stayed bridges. He holds PE licenses in twelve states, DC and Puerto Rico, SPRAT Level 1, and FAA Part 107 credentials.

Concrete bridge decks deteriorate faster than most other bridge components, and much of that deterioration happens below the surface where visual inspection cannot see it. This course explains the nondestructive testing (NDT) methods used to evaluate concrete decks, with emphasis on ground-penetrating radar, half-cell potential and impact echo, and covers chain dragging and hammer sounding, infrared thermography, electrical resistivity, galvanostatic pulse, ultrasonic surface waves, ultrasonic pulse echo and impulse response. It is built on the findings of SHRP 2 Renewal Project R06A, which graded these technologies in laboratory and field validation testing, and it stresses method selection, interpretation and limits.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Select NDE methods for decks
  • Interpret half-cell potentials
  • Use GPR and impact-echo
  • Know method limits

Outline

  1. Why decks need nondestructive testing
  2. What the methods are looking for: four deterioration types
  3. Chain dragging and hammer sounding: the baseline
  4. Impact echo: principle and interpretation
  5. Impact echo: limits and field performance
  6. Ground-penetrating radar: principle
  7. Ground-penetrating radar: limits and field performance
  8. Half-cell potential: principle and mapping
  9. Half-cell potential: limits, and other corrosion methods
  10. Other methods: thermography, ultrasonics and impulse response
  11. What R06A validation tells us about selecting methods
  12. Planning, reporting and acting on a deck survey
  13. Open the course (18 screens, 2 knowledge checks)
  14. Final quiz — 10 questions, 70% to pass

References

  1. Gucunski, N., et al., Nondestructive Testing to Identify Concrete Bridge Deck Deterioration, SHRP 2 Report S2-R06A-RR-1, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2013 (doi:10.17226/22771)