Acoustic Emission Testing of Beams to Simulate SHM of Vintage Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Highway Bridges

The practical application of Acoustic emission (AE) testing in the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of vintage steel reinforced concrete highway bridges has been recently investigated by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oregon State University (OSU). A large number of full scale laboratory test beams designed to simulate a particular class of highway bridge structure and a particular type of structural damage were tested with AE. The results of the AE test data analyzed using the Felicity and Calm ratios are presented and related to physically observed structural damage. New thresholds on the Felicity and Calm ratios specific to this class of structure and loading are suggested (based on the test results) to be used in both the damage assessment diagrams developed in the Japanese Non-destructive Inspection Standard NDIS-2421 and implementation into a SHM program currently under development at ODOT.