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Statistical analysis of favorable conditions for thermographic inspection of concrete slabs

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Abstract

Infrared thermography has been successfully applied as a remote non-destructive testing approach for access to the internal conditions of reinforced concrete bridge slabs. Due to the different thermal properties of concrete and air or water present in the subsurface defects, damaged areas can be detected by the thermal contrast recorded on the inspected concrete surface. Thus, inspections should be conducted at favorable conditions, where the highest thermal gradients facilitate damage detection. In this study, experimental models were created to simulate bridge slabs with different delamination patterns. A multivariate regression analysis was used to explain and predict the thermal behavior of the test samples using data collected at different weather conditions and different periods of the day and the year. Based on experimental and regression analysis, it was observed that environmental conditions have an important influence on the concrete surface temperature variation and, therefore, on thermal contrast. Within the scope of this study, time frames between 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm, with temperatures between 27.5 and 37.9 °C, a high level of direct solar radiation and low atmospheric pressure values set an ideal scenario for thermographic inspections in reinforced concrete bridge slabs under passive heating.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from Fundação Universidade de Passo Fundo (FUPF) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development -CNPq (Grant 427757/2016-9).

Funding

This research was partly funded by the Fundação Universidade de Passo Fundo (FUPF) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development -CNPq (Grant 427757/2016-9).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduation Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering (PPGEng), University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Sandra Pozzer, Zacarias Martin Chamberlain Pravia & Francisco Dalla Rosa

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada

    Ehsan Rezazadeh Azar

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  1. Sandra Pozzer
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Correspondence to Sandra Pozzer.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, S.P., upon reasonable request.

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Pozzer, S., Pravia, Z.M.C., Rezazadeh Azar, E. et al. Statistical analysis of favorable conditions for thermographic inspection of concrete slabs. J Civil Struct Health Monit 10, 609–626 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-020-00405-4

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