FHWA NDE CENTER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Survey of States - Visual Inspection and General NDE Usage
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Center conducted a survey of States to determine information regarding the use on highway bridges of Visual Inspection (VI) and NDE in general. This survey was conducted as part of a study of Reliability of VI for Highway Bridges, discussed elsewhere.
Forty-two State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), as well as local DOTs and bridge inspection contractors participated in this survey. Also included within the study was a literature search of similar surveys, to determine if trends could be established in NDE usage.
The survey was divided into three general topics: 1) team composition for VI, 2) administrative requirements for VI, and 3) general use of NDE. Sample team composition topics included who performs the inspections, various inspection team sizes, Professional Engineer (PE) usage, and inspector experience levels. Sample Administrative questions included requirements placed upon the inspectors, requirements placed upon the inspections, and any suggested changes to the bridge inspection process. Sample topics of the general NDE usage section include certification levels of NDE personnel, NDE technique usage, and topics for future
research.
Currently, we are finalizing the publication of the report detailing the results of this survey. The anticipated publication date for the report is September, 2000. The conclusions drawn in this report indicate that the use of NDE has increased since 1993, and that the usage of American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Level III certified personnel is also increasing. Table 1 shows the increased use of NDE since 1993. Also, VI was found to be the most frequently used NDE technique; however, vision testing for
inspectors is almost non-existent. With exceptions in certain States, typically, PEs are not on-site for inspections. Finally, State DOTs indicated a large demand for future research into the NDE of prestressed concrete superstructures and concrete decks.
Table 1. Percentage of respondents indicating the use
of specific NDE techniques.
|
NDE Technique |
FHWA NDE Center, 1998 |
Caltrans, 1994[1] |
Rens, et al., 1993[2] |
|---|
|
Ultrasonic Testing |
81% |
70% |
69% |
|---|
|
Liquid Penetrant Testing |
81% |
68% |
25% |
|---|
|
Magnetic Particle Testing |
64% |
46% |
40% |
|---|
|
Radiographic Testing |
17% |
14% |
12% |
|---|
|
Eddy Current Testing |
13% |
3% |
12% |
|---|
1Phil Stolarski. Unpublished data. Caltrans, 1994
2 Rens, Kevin L., Terry J. Wipf, F. Wayne Klaiber. "Review of Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques of Civil
Infrastructure," Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilites. Vol. 11, No. 4, November, 1997, pp. 152-160.
For more information, please contact either by e-mail or telephone.
Frank Jalinoos (202) 493-3082
frank.jalinoos@fhwa.dot.gov
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