NDE for Steel Bridges: FHWA Research, Past, Present and Future

Chase, Steven B.; ,

NDE for Steel Bridges: FHWA Research, Past, Present and Future

by Steven B. Chase, (M.ASCE), Turner-Fairbank Highway Research, Center, Mclean, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Structures Congress XII

Abstract:

Over the last two decades the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has sponsored numerous research and development projects in the area of nondestructive evaluation of steel bridges. These have ranged from the use of ultrasonics and eddy current to magnetic perturbation. These projects are briefly discussed in the chronological sequence which prefaces a discussion of the current FHWA steel bridge NDE R&D program. The current FHWA program is discussed in terms of specific problems which have been identified with steel bridges and the specific research projects designed to address those problems. The results of a current evaluation of acoustic emission technology, the status of development of improved instrumentation for fatigue loading, and the status of a project to develop a better crack detection system are presented. Finally, future FHWA R&D projects for NDE for steel bridges are discussed from two perspectives. First, the logical extension of current research to meet specific objectives and second, the development and applications of new NDE technologies for steel bridges.

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