In bridge structures, concrete decks have a higher risk of damage than other components owing to the direct impact of traffic. This study aims to develop a comprehensive system for bridge inspection using passive infrared thermography (IRT). Experiments were conducted on a concrete specimen (assumed as the surface of the bridge deck) embedded artificial delaminations with different width-to-depth ratios (WTDRs). Both professional handheld IR camera (H-IRC) and a UAV mounted with an IR camera (UAV-IRC) were employed simultaneously to capture the surface temperature of the structure. The present work indicates that the passive IRT technique with an H-IRC can be used to detect delaminations located at depths of 4 cm or less from the structure surface if the WTDRs are not lesser than 1.9 for daytime and 2.5 for nighttime when testing on a sunny day. In addition, the larger the WTDR, the higher the temperature difference can be produced, thus delaminations could be observed more clearly. Furthermore, our study suggests that the concrete bridge deck inspection using passive IRT can produce appropriate results if the inspection is performed from 10:00 to 15:00 or from 19:30 to approximately 2:00 on a sunny day. Good agreement between the results obtained from tests using H-IRC and UAV-IRC was observed, which validates the application of UAV-IRC in real structure inspection.

Detecting subsurface delamination is a difficult and vital task to maintain the durability and serviceability of concrete structure for its whole life cycle. The aim of this work was to obtain better knowledge of the effect of depth, heating time, and rebar on the detectability capacity of delamination. Experimental tests were carried out on a concrete specimen in the laboratory using Long Pulsed Thermography (LPT). Six halogen lamps and a long wavelength infrared camera with a focal plane array of 640 × 480 pixels were used as the heat source and infrared detector, respectively. The study focused on the embedded imitation delaminations with the size of 10 cm × 10 cm × 1 cm, located at depths varying from 1 to 8 cm. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was applied as a criterion to assess the detectability of delamination. The results of this study indicate that as the provided heating time climbed, the SNR increased, and the defect could be identified more clearly. On the other hand, when using the same heating regime, a shallow delamination displayed a higher SNR than a deeper one. The moderate fall of the SNR in the case of imitating defect located below reinforced steel was also observed. The absolute contrast was monitored to determine the observation time, and the nondimensional prefactor k was empirically proposed to predict the depth of delamination. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used to quantitatively evaluate the difference between forecasted and real depth, which evaluation confirmed the high reliability of the estimated value of the prefactor k.

In bridge structures worldwide, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets are applied to strengthen weak components, especially concrete girders that are at a high risk of rapid degradation during the bridge’s operation owing to impacts from the superstructure’s weight and traffic loads. Regarding the thermography-based method (TM), although deteriorations in the concrete core are some of the main defects in concrete structures strengthened with CFRP, these do not receive as much attention as damage in the CFRP. Therefore, the interpretation of the structural health in terms of these defects using TM is still unclear. The problem presented in this work addresses the quantification of delamination inside the concrete part of a specimen with a CFRP sheet installed on the surface (assumed to be the girder surface strengthened with CFRP) via step heating thermography. Additionally, the empirical thermal diffusivity of concrete girders strengthened with a CFRP sheet (CSC girder), has not been provided previously, is proposed in the present study to predict delamination depths used for field investigations. Moreover, the effect of the CFRP sheet installed on the structure’s surface on the absolute contrast of delamination is clarified. Finally, advanced post-processing algorithms, i.e., thermal signal reconstruction and pulsed phase thermography, are applied to images obtained with step heating thermography to enhance the visibility of delamination in CSC girders.

In the present study, the overall stability of typical Korean composite caisson breakwaters that were initially designed following the conventional deterministic approach is investigated using reliability approaches. Therefore, the sensitivity of critical uncertainties regarding breakwater safety is analyzed. Uncertainty sources related to the structure, ocean conditions, and properties of the subsoil and rubble mound are considered in the reliability analysis. Sliding and overturning failures are presented as explicit equations, and three reliability methods, i.e., the mean value first-order second-moment, first-order reliability method, and Monte Carlo simulation, are applied in the evaluation process. Furthermore, the bearing capacity of the rubble mound and subsoil are analyzed using the discrete slice method conjugated with the Monte Carlo simulation. The results of this study establish that the sliding failure generally is the most frequent failure occurring among the above-mentioned overall stability failures (around 15 times more common than failures observed in the foundation). Additionally, it is found that the horizontal wave force primarily contributes to the sliding of the caisson body, whereas the friction coefficient is the main factor producing the resistance force. Furthermore, a much small probability of overturning failure implies that the overturning of a caisson around its heels uncommonly occurs during their lifetime, unlike other overall failure modes. Moreover, the failure in foundations may commonly encounter in the breakwater that has a high rubble mound structure compared with sliding mode. Particularly, the performance function of the all foundation bearing capacities presents a nonlinear behavior and positively skewed distribution when using the Monte Carlo simulation method. This phenomenon proves that simulation methods might be an appropriate approach to evaluate the bearing capacity of a breakwater foundation that can overcome several drawbacks of the conventional design approach.