Abstract
This study was commissioned to investigate the efficacy of alternative nondestructive testing (NDT) methods and to show how NDT could be incorporated in Indiana’s bridge deck asset management. Volume 1 reviewed the literature on the merits and limitations of various NDT methods and carried out field and laboratory tests to assess the reliability of each test method. This report (Volume 2) addressed the integration of NDT into INDOT’s bridge deck asset management practices. The report covers the following: (a) a state-of-practice and best-practices review regarding NDT data collection for asset management and the use of NDT data in deck repair/replacement decisions; (b) development of novel NDT-based measures of overall deck deterioration that are objective, comprehensive, intuitive, and informative; (c) sample calculations for the proposed NDT-based measures using raw NDT data from a sample of bridge decks; (d) development of an electronic AI-based tool (Heatmap Reader, Version 1.0) that calculates the NDT-based measures from a given deck heatmap; (e) development of NDT-based threshold values for triggering or for obviating specific deck repair/replacement actions; (f) development of a long-term NDT monitoring policy and program (schedule) for bridge decks on the state highway network. Overall, the use of NDT in INDOT bridge deck asset management is expected to help the agency to develop reliable schedules for bridge deck repair and replacement in a manner that is objective, defensible, consistent, and devoid of any subjective bias from human visual inspection.
Keywords
bridge deck, nondestructive testing, delamination, corrosion, condition assessment, asset management, delamination index, heatmap
Report Number
FHWA/IN/JTRP-2025/39
SPR Number
4729 Volume 2
Sponsoring Organization
Indiana Department of Transportation
Performing Organization
Joint Transportation Research Program
Publisher Place
West Lafayette, Indiana
Date of Version
2025
DOI
10.5703/1288284318604
Recommended Citation
Pourgholamali, M., Song, D., Mwamba, I., Fu, S., Soleimani, S., Baah, P., Sharma, A., & Labi, S. (2025). Evaluation of the accuracy of nondestructive testing (NDT) methods for the condition assessment of bridge decks and integration of NDT into the asset management program, Volume 2 (Joint Transportation Research Program Publication No. FHWA/IN/JTRP-2025/39). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284318604
SPR-4729, Volume 2 Technical Summary