Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Steel Bridge Members: Interim Report

Details

• Creators:
  Clemeña, Gerardo G.
• Corporate Creators:
  Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Acoustic Emission Tests Bridges Inspection Steel Bridges Testing
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/VTRC 95-IR1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Virginia
• Edition:
  Interim report.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)
• Abstract:
  This interim report describes the current status of acoustic emission (AE) monitoring of steel bridge members. The report includes a brief introduction to the theory of acoustic emission and a comprehensive summary of previous efforts to apply AE monitoring to steel bridges, and discusses issues related to AE noise discrimination. Five bridges were field tested. Extensive data from the active cracking of a hanger on the Rte. 29 bridge over the Robinson River at Madison, Virginia, are discussed. The report includes conclusions and recommendations based on extensive field monitoring. Two appendices detail the laboratory fatigue testing of bridge steels and the simulated environmental exposure of AE transducer-mounting adhesives. AE monitoring is sensitive to the acoustic energy emitted by steel bridge members during the formation and growth of cracks. It is the only method that can distinguish between active and benign cracks. It is also possible to discriminate between AE caused by crack growth and irrelevant noise. AE information can be significant in making repair or replacement decisions, and AE could be used for the continuous remote monitoring of critical bridge members or even entire bridges.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:c1f1374c1063f884632a93879e8bbef47af546a10ebab96cf02c83c771d59ed2
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/19394/dot_19394_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.31 MB ]