USE OF EMBEDDABLE SENSORS IN AN INTEGRATED MONITORING SYSTEM FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

摘要

The major part of the infrastructure has reached an age where the inspection and maintenance costs constitute the major part of the costs. Monitoring and inspection systems are used in a variety of industries to ensure safety and reduce costs by early detection of damage Such systems can also be applied to existing civil engineering structures if the necessary probes are available for embedding. Within a BRITE/EuRam project eight European partners developed an integrated monitoring system aiming the reduction of the inspection and maintenance costs as well as the traffic impairments. The important part of this project was related to development of different new sensors to be embedded in existing concrete structures as a part of the monitoring system. These sensors should register time to corrosion initiation, chloride content, humidity and pH. Laboratory and on-site tests have been carried out. Based on the laboratory test calibration curves monitored on-site data have been translated. The system is being tested on-site on a highway bridge near Copenhagen with sensors installed during 2000 and 2001 in approximately 200 positions. The first results of on-site testing are now being analyzed, and the suitability of the probes within the integrated monitoring system can be shown. The monitoring on-site will continue for the next five years and it should contribute to the further improvement of the sensors.