Acoustic Emission Testing of In-service Conventionally Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Superstructures on Highway Bridges

摘要

Three reports were produced from research sponsored by the Oregon Department of Transportation on acoustic emission (AE). The first describes the evaluation of AE techniques applied to two reinforced concrete (RC) bridge girders, which were loaded to mimic in-service conditions. The main goal was to get a thorough understanding of how AE methods can be used with RC and in what way these methods can assist in maintaining the states aging RC deck girder bridges. Recommended settings for data acquisition and processing were evaluated. In addition to the complex full-scale beam components, studies were performed on smaller test specimens that improved understanding of stress wave propagation through reinforced concrete and the response of acoustic emission sensors in detecting these waves. Some qualitative and quantitative assessment methodologies were described, and examples and limitations of the methods were presented. Source locations in three dimensions were performed, and strategies on how to best deploy sensors were evaluated using Monte Carlo Simulations.