Review of Current NDE Technologies for Post-earthquake Assessment of Retrofitted Bridge Columns

Keywords: Nondestructive evaluations (NDE).  Nondestructive tests (NDT).  Retrofitting.  Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) jackets.  Bridges.  Columns.  Highway infrastructure.  Strengthening.  Damage assessments.  Damage detection.  Vibration methods.  Electromagnetic method.  Impact echo method.

Abstract: The major objective of this report is to evaluate various nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDE) technologies for use on bridge columns that have been retrofitted with FRP-type jackets.  Suitable and/or potentially suitable techniques for practical applications are identified, and promising techniques that could benefit from additional research prior to use in engineering applications are assessed.  For each technology, the inherent physical principles and application characteristics are analyzed and their advantages and disadvantages are compared to determine whether each method could be used to detect damage and defects in the jacketed bridge columns.  The most promising NDE methods are identified and corresponding application procedures are then presented.  This report focuses solely on the application of NDE technologies to bridge columns, and therefore, recommendations and conclusions may differ from those discovered for other applications.