Submitting Campus
Daytona Beach
Department
Civil Engineering
Document Type
Article
Publication/Presentation Date
2007
Abstract/Description
The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites to strengthen existing civil infrastructure is expanding rapidly. Many FRP systems used to strengthen reinforced concrete are applied using a wet lay-up method in which dry fibers are saturated on site and then applied to the surface. This research investigated using infrared thermography (IRT) as a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) tool for detecting air voids and epoxy-filled holes in FRP systems bonded to a concrete substrate. Four small-scale specimens with FRP thicknesses ranging from 1 to 4 mm (0.04 to 0.16 in.) containing fabricated defects were constructed and inspected in a laboratory setting. Three heating methods (flash, scan, and long pulse) were employed and a quantitative analysis of resulting IRT data was used to establish detection limits for each method. Scan heating was shown to be most effective for basic defect detection. Air-filled defects at the FRP/concrete interface as small as 2.9 cm2 (0.45 in.2) were detected in a 4 mm (0.16 in.) thick FRP system. Defects as small as 0.3 cm2 (0.05 in.2) were detected in a 1 mm (0.04 in.) thick FRP system.
Publication Title
ACI Materials Journal
Publisher
American Concrete Institute
Scholarly Commons Citation
Brown, J. R., & Hamilton, H. R. (2007). Heating Methods and Detection Limits for Infrared Thermography Inspection of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites. ACI Materials Journal, 104(5). Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/publication/325
Included in
Civil Engineering Commons, Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons, Polymer and Organic Materials Commons
Additional Information
Title no. 104-M53
Dr. Jeff Brown was not affiliated with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at the time this paper was published.