Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor
Precise characterization of reinforcing bars (rebars) in a concrete structure is of significant importance for construction quality control and post-disaster safety evaluation. This paper integrates ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods for simultaneous estimatio...
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MDPI AG
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2969 |
| _version_ | 1818037022064902144 |
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| author | Feng Zhou Zhongchang Chen Hai Liu Jie Cui Billie F. Spencer Guangyou Fang |
| author_facet | Feng Zhou Zhongchang Chen Hai Liu Jie Cui Billie F. Spencer Guangyou Fang |
| author_sort | Feng Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Precise characterization of reinforcing bars (rebars) in a concrete structure is of significant importance for construction quality control and post-disaster safety evaluation. This paper integrates ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods for simultaneous estimation of rebar diameter and cover thickness. A prototype of GPR-EMI dual sensor is developed, and a calibration experiment is conducted to collect a standard EMI dataset corresponding to various rebar diameters and cover thicknesses. The handheld testing cart can synchronously collect both GPR and EMI data when moving on the concrete surface, from which a data processing algorithm is proposed to simultaneously estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness. Firstly, by extracting the apex of the hyperbolic reflection from the rebar in the preprocessed GPR profile, the rebar position is determined and further used to extract the effective EMI curve. Then, the rebar diameter and cover thickness are simultaneously estimated from the minimum mean square error between the measured and calibrated EMI data under the constraint of the GPR-estimated cover thickness. A laboratory experiment is performed using four casted concrete specimens with 11 embedded steel rebars. The results show that the diameters of 10 rebars are correctly estimated out of the 11 rebars, and the maximum estimation error for the cover thickness is 6.7%. A field trial is carried out in a newly-constructed building, and the diameters of four tested rebars are all accurately estimated while the estimation errors of the cover thickness are less than 5%. It is concluded that the developed GPR-EMI dual sensor and the proposed algorithm can estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness accurately by a single scan. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:20:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71a30ec67a71467482bc58464405326e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:20:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-71a30ec67a71467482bc58464405326e2022-12-22T01:57:50ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-09-01189296910.3390/s18092969s18092969Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual SensorFeng Zhou0Zhongchang Chen1Hai Liu2Jie Cui3Billie F. Spencer4Guangyou Fang5School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USAInstitute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaPrecise characterization of reinforcing bars (rebars) in a concrete structure is of significant importance for construction quality control and post-disaster safety evaluation. This paper integrates ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods for simultaneous estimation of rebar diameter and cover thickness. A prototype of GPR-EMI dual sensor is developed, and a calibration experiment is conducted to collect a standard EMI dataset corresponding to various rebar diameters and cover thicknesses. The handheld testing cart can synchronously collect both GPR and EMI data when moving on the concrete surface, from which a data processing algorithm is proposed to simultaneously estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness. Firstly, by extracting the apex of the hyperbolic reflection from the rebar in the preprocessed GPR profile, the rebar position is determined and further used to extract the effective EMI curve. Then, the rebar diameter and cover thickness are simultaneously estimated from the minimum mean square error between the measured and calibrated EMI data under the constraint of the GPR-estimated cover thickness. A laboratory experiment is performed using four casted concrete specimens with 11 embedded steel rebars. The results show that the diameters of 10 rebars are correctly estimated out of the 11 rebars, and the maximum estimation error for the cover thickness is 6.7%. A field trial is carried out in a newly-constructed building, and the diameters of four tested rebars are all accurately estimated while the estimation errors of the cover thickness are less than 5%. It is concluded that the developed GPR-EMI dual sensor and the proposed algorithm can estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness accurately by a single scan.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2969non-destructive testing (NDT)ground-penetrating radar (GPR)electromagnetic induction (EMI)rebar detection |
| spellingShingle | Feng Zhou Zhongchang Chen Hai Liu Jie Cui Billie F. Spencer Guangyou Fang Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor Sensors non-destructive testing (NDT) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) electromagnetic induction (EMI) rebar detection |
| title | Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor |
| title_full | Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor |
| title_fullStr | Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor |
| title_short | Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor |
| title_sort | simultaneous estimation of rebar diameter and cover thickness by a gpr emi dual sensor |
| topic | non-destructive testing (NDT) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) electromagnetic induction (EMI) rebar detection |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2969 |
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