Integrated approaches for non-destructive testing of construction materials and structures

Abstract

Civil infrastructures include structures which are inherently large in dimension, geometrically complex with different elements and joints, and composed of different materials. Due to the diverse material properties, geometrical shapes and varied damages in these structures, the selection of a non-destructive testing technique is a challenging task. This thesis aims to highlight the need for utilising multiple standalone techniques or integrated approaches for non-destructive testing of diverse construction materials and structures. This way, the benefits of different sensor techniques can be utilised to develop a system which can overcome the limitations of conventional non-destructive testing techniques. For this, systems based on three major techniques, namely, laser displacement technique, microwave sensing technique and piezoelectric sensing technique is developed. The displacement measuring property of laser displacement sensors is utilised to generate one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional surface profiles and images of different specimens. The microwave imaging technique is developed for the non-destructive testing of planar and tilted construction materials in civil infrastructures. A piezoelectric based sensor technique is developed for the detection of gap and debonding in concrete based composite structure. The development of these standalone and integrated systems highlights the need of different non-destructive testing techniques for applications in demand. The integrated approaches not only enable monitoring of diverse materials and structures but also assure accurate and reliable information from these structures. Therefore, the integrated non-destructive testing approach is a key to overcome the limitations of current methods in monitoring the integrity of in-service structures on a continuous real-time basis.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English