HERMES: a high-speed radar imaging system for inspection of bridge decks

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Abstract
Corrosion of rebar in concrete bridges causes subsurface cracks and is a major cause of structural degradation that necessitates repair or replacement. Early detection of corrosion effects can limit the location and extent of necessary repairs, while providing long-term information about the infrastructure status. Most current detection methods, however, are destructive of the road surface and require closing or restricting traffic while the tests are performed. A ground-penetrating radar imaging system has been designed and developed that will perform the nondestructive evaluation of road-bed cracking at traffic speeds, i.e., without the need to restrict traffic flow. The first-generation system consists of an offset-linear array of 64 impulse radar transceivers and associated electronics housed in a trailer. Computers in the trailer and in the towing vehicle control the data acquisition, processing, and display. Cross-road resolution is three centimeters at up to 30 cm in depth, while down-road resolution depends on speed; 3 cm below 20 mph up to 8 cm at 50 mph. A two-meter-wide path is inspected on each pass over the roadway. In this paper, we describe the design of this system, show preliminary results, and lay out its deployment schedule.

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