Perform a CT scan on old facilities using structural radar

Project 1: Detection of Concrete Tunnel Structures

Due to severe fire damage suffered by a certain tunnel in the past, the Party A unit now needs to extract cores from the structure to investigate the compressive strength and porosity/cracks of the concrete, in order to determine whether the tunnel can continue to serve. However, in order to ensure the safety of the internal structure, it is necessary to first understand the position of the internal steel bars without excavation, so as to avoid important locations for coring.

Solution

The testing company uses Proceq GP8800 to scan the tunnel surface and determine the exact location of the steel bars. The reason for choosing GP8800 is that its size is only 8.9 x 8.9 x 7.6 cm, which is not limited by the detection space, and can even be used to detect narrow corners and places near wall corners. It is also very suitable for high-altitude operations.

Project achievements

Our structural radar displays a real steel bar arrangement that differs from the existing old drawings (as shown in the diagram below).

On the old drawing, there is no steel reinforcement arrangement at the blue circle, but the actual presence of prestressed steel reinforcement was detected by radar; On the old drawings, there are steel bars distributed at the red box, but in actual measurement and testing, there is no steel bar structure.

This comprehensive structural inspection effectively avoided damage to the tunnel structure during the coring process.

Project 2: Detection of Steel Reinforcement Distribution in Large Wharf

A large seaside pier without any information about steel reinforcement configuration, but urgently needs repair and maintenance. The testing company has been invited to conduct radar detection in this area to determine its internal steel reinforcement configuration and corrosion situation, in order to infer the service life of this area.

Solution

For the surface of the bridge piers in this area, the inspection company used GP8100 with six antenna channels, which has an effective scanning width of 25 cm and a penetration depth of 80 cm. The reason for choosing it is that it can quickly and efficiently scan large bridge piers and detect steel bars within all depth ranges. In addition, GP8800 is used as an auxiliary tool to detect small corners on bridge piers.

Project achievements

For this dock project without any reference drawings, its internal structure must be determined through radar detection. By effectively detecting and recording, the owner is able to understand the specific situation of the dock and store the test results in the computer for a long time, and timely maintenance is carried out to maximize the service life of the dock.

The owner of the asset is also very concerned about the integrity of the structure. Therefore, the testing agency also used Profometer PM8000 Pro to test the concrete protective layer of the dock, in order to determine carbonization and chlorination pollution, providing reference for the durability of the dock.

Combining two types of structured radars with the GP application makes the process and results very convenient and intuitive. All results can be directly visualized on-site and can also be clearly displayed through 3D augmented reality technology. The owners of these two projects are very satisfied with the test results.