Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging
Abstract Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure is a crucial component of assuring the serviceability and integrity of the built environment. A primary material used in the construction of civil infrastructure is concrete, a material that is susceptible to cracking due to a variety of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45917-3 |
| _version_ | 1797637011119538176 |
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| author | Andreas Karpf Michael Selig Aktham Alchaar Magued Iskander |
| author_facet | Andreas Karpf Michael Selig Aktham Alchaar Magued Iskander |
| author_sort | Andreas Karpf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure is a crucial component of assuring the serviceability and integrity of the built environment. A primary material used in the construction of civil infrastructure is concrete, a material that is susceptible to cracking due to a variety of causes, such as shrinkage, creep, overloading, and temperature change. Cracking reduces the durability of concrete structures, as it allows deleterious environmental agents to penetrate the surface, causing such damage as corrosion of steel reinforcement and delamination of the concrete itself. Conventional crack detection techniques are limited in scope due to issues relating to pre-planning, accessibility, and the need for close proximity to the test surface. Contactless optical image monitoring techniques offer the opportunity to overcome these limitations and have the potential to detect cracks at a distance. Concrete has been reported to have a near-infrared (Near-IR) fluorescence line at a wavelength of 1140 nm when excited with red light. This work investigates the use of fluorescence imaging for the detection of cracks in cementitious surfaces using shallow angle incidence excitation red light. Light oriented at a shallow angle does not excite interior surfaces of cracks, which appear as darker features in images of fluorescing concrete. Artificial cracks with widths of 0.2–1.5 mm were readily imaged using a near-IR camera at distances of 0.5 and 1.3 m. An additional concrete sample with a 0.08 mm wide crack was produced using a flexure apparatus and was also imaged. It is worth noting that the 0.08 mm crack was detected despite its width being below the 0.1 mm pixel resolution of the camera, with the aid of digital image enhancement algorithms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:43:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e9939a4290f24c4bb10dfa61e18e029e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:43:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-e9939a4290f24c4bb10dfa61e18e029e2023-11-05T12:12:37ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-11-011311810.1038/s41598-023-45917-3Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imagingAndreas Karpf0Michael Selig1Aktham Alchaar2Magued Iskander3Civil and Urban Engineering Department, New York UniversityCivil and Urban Engineering Department, New York UniversityCivil and Urban Engineering Department, New York UniversityCivil and Urban Engineering Department, New York UniversityAbstract Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure is a crucial component of assuring the serviceability and integrity of the built environment. A primary material used in the construction of civil infrastructure is concrete, a material that is susceptible to cracking due to a variety of causes, such as shrinkage, creep, overloading, and temperature change. Cracking reduces the durability of concrete structures, as it allows deleterious environmental agents to penetrate the surface, causing such damage as corrosion of steel reinforcement and delamination of the concrete itself. Conventional crack detection techniques are limited in scope due to issues relating to pre-planning, accessibility, and the need for close proximity to the test surface. Contactless optical image monitoring techniques offer the opportunity to overcome these limitations and have the potential to detect cracks at a distance. Concrete has been reported to have a near-infrared (Near-IR) fluorescence line at a wavelength of 1140 nm when excited with red light. This work investigates the use of fluorescence imaging for the detection of cracks in cementitious surfaces using shallow angle incidence excitation red light. Light oriented at a shallow angle does not excite interior surfaces of cracks, which appear as darker features in images of fluorescing concrete. Artificial cracks with widths of 0.2–1.5 mm were readily imaged using a near-IR camera at distances of 0.5 and 1.3 m. An additional concrete sample with a 0.08 mm wide crack was produced using a flexure apparatus and was also imaged. It is worth noting that the 0.08 mm crack was detected despite its width being below the 0.1 mm pixel resolution of the camera, with the aid of digital image enhancement algorithms.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45917-3 |
| spellingShingle | Andreas Karpf Michael Selig Aktham Alchaar Magued Iskander Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging Scientific Reports |
| title | Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging |
| title_full | Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging |
| title_fullStr | Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging |
| title_short | Detection of cracks in concrete using near-IR fluorescence imaging |
| title_sort | detection of cracks in concrete using near ir fluorescence imaging |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45917-3 |
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