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Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2021) | Viewed by 55468

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Soldovieri

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National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA), Via Diocleziano 328, 80124 Naples, Italy
Interests: electromagnetic scattering; radar imaging; ground penetrating radar; data integration; non-invasive monitoring tools
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti

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1. School of Computing and Engineering, University of West London, Room BY.03.19, St. Mary’s Rd., Ealing, London W5 5RF, UK
2. The Faringdon Centre for Non-Destructive Testing and Remote Sensing, University of West London, Room BY.GF.015, St. Mary’s Rd., Ealing, London W5 5RF, UK
Interests: ground-penetrating radar; signal processing; remote sensing; deflection-based methods; numerical simulations; forestry engineering; airfield and highway pavement engineering; construction materials; civil engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Andrea Benedetto

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil, Computer Science and Aeronautical Technologies Engineering, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
Interests: ground-penetrating radar; signal processing; remote sensing; deflection-based assessment methods; non-destructive testing; modeling and simulation; road safety and highway engineering; driving simulation; civil engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ilaria Catapano

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Guest Editor

Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, National Research Council of Italy (IREA CNR), Via Diocleziano 328, 80127 Napoli, Italy
Interests: signal processing; non-invasive electromagnetic diagnostics; airborne and in situ radar imaging; reconstruction of geometrical and electromagnetic features of targets by means of microwave and terahertz devices; development of data processing strategies and methodologies; image interpretation; non-invasive subsurface radar surveys of cultural heritage assets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Amir M. Alani

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Guest Editor

School of Computing and Engineering, University of West London, St Mary’s Rd, Ealing, London W5 5RF, UK
Interests: ground-penetrating radar; signal processing; modelling and simulation; remote sensing; non-destructive testing; concrete technology; forestry engineering; soil engineering; civil engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been increasingly used over the last decades in a wide range of engineering and geosciences applications. The potential of many optical, acoustic, electric and electromagnetic NDT methods for stand-alone use has been widely investigated, and their use has become established in many fields of application. In addition to this, equipment reliability has tremendously grown and benefitted from new theoretical developments, technological advances in both hardware and software resources, as well as from the progress achieved in surveying, data processing and interpretation. These achievements have eventually allowed outstanding data quality and accuracy.

Nevertheless, comprehensive site investigations may require multiple expertise and equipment and involve complex and time-consuming methods and resources. To this effect, the integration between data outputs and different physical quantities, scale domains and resolutions is gaining momentum nowadays. In more detail, it is envisaged that data fusion, integration and correlation between different NDT methods and theories are to be further investigated in the near future with enormous development opportunities.

Within this framework, our intention is to collect contributions from state-of-the-art NDT methods and numerical and theoretical developments. The emphasis will be on promoting the integration of existing equipment and the development of new algorithms, surveying techniques, methods and prototypes for effective monitoring and assessment of survey sites. Non-destructive testing techniques of interest are related but not limited to the application of acoustic emission (AE) testing, electromagnetic testing (ET), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), geoelectric methods (GM), laser testing methods (LM), magnetic flux leakage (MFL), microwave testing, magnetic particle testing (MT), neutron radiographic testing (NR), radiographic testing (RT), thermal/infrared testing (IRT), ultrasonic testing (UT), seismic methods (SM), vibration analysis (VA), visual and optical testing (VT/OT).

This Special Issue will include, but not be limited to, the following set of topics:

advanced data fusion;
advanced interpretation methods;
design and development of new surveying equipment and prototypes;
assessment and monitoring methods for engineering and geoscience investigations;
assessment and monitoring protocols and procedures for engineering and geoscience investigations;
comprehensive and inclusive information data systems for the monitoring and assessment of survey sites;
numerical simulation and modelling of data outputs with different physical quantities, scale domains and resolutions;
advances in NDT methods, numerical developments and applications in engineering and geosciences (stand-alone use of existing and state-of-the-art NDTs).

Prof. Andrea Benedetto
Dr. Ilaria Catapano
Prof. Amir M. Alani
Dr. Francesco Soldovieri
Dr. Fabio Tosti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (13 papers)

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22 pages, 4692 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Ontology-Based Approach to Enable Data-Driven Research in the Field of NDT in Civil Engineering

by Benjamí Moreno Torres, Christoph Völker, Sarah Mandy Nagel, Thomas Hanke and Sabine Kruschwitz

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(12), 2426; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13122426 - 21 Jun 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3905

Abstract

Although measurement data from the civil engineering sector are an important basis for scientific analyses in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT), there is still no uniform representation of these data. An analysis of data sets across different test objects or test types is therefore associated with a high manual effort. Ontologies and the semantic web are technologies already used in numerous intelligent systems such as material cyberinfrastructures or research databases. This contribution demonstrates the application of these technologies to the case of the ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry, which is commonly used to characterize water content and porosity distribution in solids. The methodology implemented for this purpose was developed specifically to be applied to materials science (MS) tests. The aim of this paper is to analyze such a methodology from the perspective of data interoperability using ontologies. Three benefits are expected from this approach to the study of the implementation of interoperability in the NDT domain: First, expanding knowledge of how the intrinsic characteristics of the NDT domain determine the application of semantic technologies. Second, to determine which aspects of such an implementation can be improved and in what ways. Finally, the baselines of future research in the field of data integration for NDT are drawn. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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16 pages, 5890 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reverse-Time Migration Imaging of Ground-Penetrating Radar in NDT of Reinforced Concrete Structures

by Ruiqing Shen, Yonghui Zhao, Shufan Hu, Bo Li and Wenda Bi

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(10), 2020; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13102020 - 20 May 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3084

Abstract

The evaluation and inspection of steel bars in reinforced concrete structures are critical for prolonging the service life of buildings. In this regard, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been a crucial alternative due to its non-invasiveness and convenience. This paper reports the experimental activities on a test-site area inside a camp in Shanghai, China. To assess the concrete structures of the building, GPR was employed for the detection and localization of rebars in columns, beams, and floors. From the GPR B-scan profiles acquired using a high-frequency antenna, the exact quantity of reinforcements was identified according to the hyperbola responses. Considering the difficulty of inferring the exact position and the scale of the rebars, we applied reverse time migration (RTM) to collapse the hyperbolic response and retrieve the target in a migrated image. To verify the effectiveness of the RTM algorithm, we carried out an experiment on a concrete model with three reinforced bars. We also utilized the RTM algorithm to process the B-scan profiles collected in a column that was later excavated. The imaging results validated the capacity of RTM in localizing and shaping rebars. Then, we employed the RTM algorithm for the GPR B-scan data collected from the other column. Based on the imaging profile, the quantity and positions of the rebars were correctly determined. Moreover, the thickness of the protective layer was evaluated according to the migrated result. These results demonstrate that GPR combined with RTM could provide useful foundation data for structural evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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22 pages, 13897 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Joint Interpretation of Geophysical Results and Geological Observations for Detecting Buried Active Faults: The Case of the “Il Lago” Plain (Pettoranello del Molise, Italy)

by Rosa Nappi, Valeria Paoletti, Donato D’Antonio, Francesco Soldovieri, Luigi Capozzoli, Giovanni Ludeno, Sabina Porfido and Alessandro Maria Michetti

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(8), 1555; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13081555 - 17 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3385

Abstract

We report a geophysical study across an active normal fault in the Southern Apennines. The surveyed area is the “Il Lago” Plain (Pettoranello del Molise), at the foot of Mt. Patalecchia (Molise Apennines, Southern Italy), a small tectonic basin filled by Holocene deposits located at the NW termination of the major Quaternary Bojano basin structure. This basin, on the NE flank of the Matese Massif, was the epicentral area of the very strong 26 July, 1805, Sant’Anna earthquake (I0 = X MCS, Mw = 6.7). The “Il Lago” Plain is bordered by a portion of the right-stepping normal fault system bounding the whole Bojano Quaternary basin (28 km long). The seismic source responsible for the 1805 earthquake is regarded as one of the most hazardous structures of the Apennines; however, the position of its NW boundary of this seismic source is debated. Geological, geomorphological and macroseismic data show that some coseismic surface faulting also occurred in correspondence with the border fault of the “Il Lago” Plain. The study of the “Il Lago” Plain subsurface might help to constrain the NW segment boundary of the 1805 seismogenic source, suggesting that it is possibly a capable fault, source for moderate (Mw < 5.5) to strong earthquakes (Mw ≥ 5.5). Therefore, we constrained the geometry of the fault beneath the plain using low-frequency Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data supported by seismic tomography. Seismic tomography yielded preliminary information on the subsurface structures and the dielectric permittivity of the subsoil. A set of GPR parallel profiles allowed a quick and high-resolution characterization of the lateral extension of the fault, and of its geometry at depth. The result of our study demonstrates the optimal potential of combined seismic and deep GPR surveys for investigating the geometry of buried active normal faults. Moreover, our study could be used for identifying suitable sites for paleoseismic analyses, where record of earthquake surface faulting might be preserved in Holocene lacustrine sedimentary deposits. The present case demonstrates the possibility to detect with high accuracy the complexity of a fault-zone within a basin, inferred by GPR data, not only in its shallower part, but also down to about 100 m depth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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20 pages, 1958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatio-Temporal Models for Vibration Monitoring of Elongated Structures Using Profile Laser Scans

by Christoph Holst and Hans Neuner

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(7), 1369; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13071369 - 02 Apr 2021

Viewed by 2076

Abstract

Vibration monitoring is a frequent task within the general topic of Structural Health Monitoring. For this monitoring, usually accelerometers, strain gauges, fibre optic sensors or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers are placed on pre-selected positions on the structure and the point-wise measurements are individually processed to estimate the relevant modal parameters, for example, oscillating amplitudes and natural frequencies. If laser scanners were used for vibration monitoring, the analyses could be performed with a significantly higher spatial resolution that would be beneficial especially for locating structural weaknesses. However, to apply laser scanners rigorously to vibration monitoring, spatio-temporal models need to be set up. With this study, we develop and discuss four spatio-temporal models applied to the simulated vibration monitoring of a bridge deck. Therefore, we formulate either functional as well as stochastic connections between neighbored measurement positions within the estimation of the parameters of a harmonic oscillation. We reveal that those models allow an improved parameter estimation compared to the usually used strategies—even at lower measurement frequencies and shorter observation lengths. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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19 pages, 13809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Damage Detection Based on 3D Point Cloud Data Processing from Laser Scanning of Conveyor Belt Surface

by Paweł Trybała, Jan Blachowski, Ryszard Błażej and Radosław Zimroz

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(1), 55; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13010055 - 25 Dec 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 4747

Abstract

Usually, substantial part of a mine haulage system is based on belt conveyors. Reliability of such system is significant in terms of mining operation continuity and profitability. Numerous methods for conveyor belt monitoring have been developed, although many of them require physical presence of the monitoring staff in the dangerous environment. In this paper, a remote sensing method for assessing a conveyor belt condition using the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) system has been described. For this purpose a methodology of semi-automatic processing of point cloud data for obtaining the belt geometry has been developed. The sample data has been collected in a test laboratory and processed with the proposed algorithms. Damaged belt surface areas have been successfully identified and edge defects were investigated. The proposed non-destructive testing methodology has been found to be suitable for monitoring the general condition of the conveyor belt and could be exceptionally successful and cost-effective if combined with an unmanned, robotic inspection system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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22 pages, 4577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploration of Indoor Barrier-Free Plane Intelligent Lofting System Combining BIM and Multi-Sensors

by Zijian Zhang, Xiaojun Cheng, Bilian Yang and Dong Yang

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(20), 3306; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12203306 - 12 Oct 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2480

Abstract

Lofting is an essential part of construction projects and the high quality of lofting is the basis of efficient construction. However, the most common method of lofting currently which uses the total station in a multi-person cooperative way consumes much manpower and time. With the rapid development of remote sensing and robot technology, using robots instead of manpower can effectively solve this problem, but few scholars study this. How to effectively combine remote sensing and robots with lofting is a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose an intelligent lofting system for indoor barrier-free plane environment, and design a high-flexibility, low-cost autonomous mobile robot platform based on single chip microcomputer, Micro Electro Mechanical Systems-Inertial Measurement Unit (MEMS-IMU), wheel encoder, and magnetometer. The robot also combines Building Information Modeling (BIM) laser lofting instrument and WIFI communication technology to get its own position. To ensure the accuracy of localization, the kinematics model of Mecanum wheel robot is built, and Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is also used to fuse multi-sensor data. It can be seen from the final experimental results that this system can significantly improve lofting efficiency and reduce manpower. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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17 pages, 10431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Discovery of a Buried Temple in Paestum: The Advantages of the Geophysical Multi-Sensor Application

by Luigi Capozzoli, Ilaria Catapano, Gregory De Martino, Gianluca Gennarelli, Giovanni Ludeno, Enzo Rizzo, Francesco Soldovieri, Francesco Uliano Scelza and Gabriel Zuchtriegel

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(17), 2711; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12172711 - 21 Aug 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3451

Abstract

Southern Italy is characterized by important archaeological sites developed during the pre-roman period. Among these, Paestum and Velia Archaeological Park, located in the Campania region, represents one of the most important and well-preserved sites of the Magna Graecia. During the last year, several unexpected archaeological findings have permitted the supposition of the presence of another undiscovered temple at Paestum, in a not yet investigated area of the site, close to the fortification walls (Western City Walls) of the ancient city and a few meters away from the gate of Porta Marina. To support this amazing hypothesis, the Paestum and Velia Archaeological Park and the National Research Council planned an accurate campaign of geophysical surveys, based on the combined use of Geomagnetic and Ground Penetrating Radar methodologies. The results of the geophysical surveys have effectively supported the detection of the temple, providing detailed information about its location and highlighting the geometry of the basement of the structure with high accuracy. The discovery sheds new light on the archaeological and architectonic history of the site and may represent one of the most relevant archaeological discoveries of the XXI century performed in Italy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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17 pages, 8067 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

GPR and ERT Investigations in Urban Areas: the Case-Study of Matera (Southern Italy)

by Jessica Bellanova, Giuseppe Calamita, Ilaria Catapano, Alessandro Ciucci, Carmela Cornacchia, Gianluca Gennarelli, Alessandro Giocoli, Federico Fisangher, Giovanni Ludeno, Gianfranco Morelli, Angela Perrone, Sabatino Piscitelli, Francesco Soldovieri and Vincenzo Lapenna

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(11), 1879; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12111879 - 10 Jun 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4402

Abstract

This paper deals with a geophysical survey carried out in some critical urban areas of the historical city of Matera (Southern Italy). Matera has a very complex shallower stratigraphy characterized by both anthropic and natural “targets” and is affected by geological instability. Therefore, Matera represents an ideal and very challenging outdoor laboratory for testing novel approaches for near-surface explorations in urban areas. Here, we present the results of a near-surface survey carried out by jointly applying Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) methods. The survey was implemented in three different critical zones within the urban area of Matera (Piazza Duomo, Piazza San Giovanni, Villa dell’Unità d’Italia). These test sites are of great interest for archaeological and architectonical studies and are affected by ground instability phenomena due to the presence of voids, cavities and other anthropic structures. The effectiveness of the survey was enhanced by the exploitation of advanced 3D tomographic approaches, which allowed to achieve 3D representation of the investigated underground and obtain information in terms of both the location and the geometry of buried objects and structures and the characterization of shallow geological layers. The results of the surveys are now under study (or have attracted the interest) of the Municipality in order to support smart cities programs and activities for a better management of the underground space. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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26 pages, 11432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Kinematic GPR-TPS Model with High 3D Georeference Accuracy for Underground Utility Infrastructure Mapping: A Case Study from Urban Sites in Celje, Slovenia

by Nikolaj Šarlah, Tomaž Podobnikar, Tomaž Ambrožič and Branko Mušič

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(8), 1228; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12081228 - 11 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6065

Abstract

This paper describes in detail the applicability of the developed ground-penetrating radar (GPR) model with a kinematic GPR and self-tracking (robotic) terrestrial positioning system (TPS) surveying setup (GPR-TPS model) for the acquisition, processing and visualisation of underground utility infrastructure (UUI) in a real urban environment. The integration of GPR with TPS can significantly improve the accuracy of UUI positioning in a real urban environment by means of efficient control of GPR trajectories. Two areas in the urban part of Celje in Slovenia were chosen. The accuracy of the kinematic GPR-TPS model was analysed by comparing the three-dimensional (3D) position of UUI given as reference values (true 3D position) from the officially consolidated cadastre of utility infrastructure in the Republic of Slovenia and those obtained by the GPR-TPS method. To determine the reference 3D position of the GPR antenna and UUI, the same positional and height geodetic network was used. Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were used for recording to provide a better spatial display of the results of UUI obtained with the GPR-TPS method. As demonstrated by the results, the kinematic GPR-TPS model for data acquisition can achieve an accuracy of fewer than 15 centimetres in a real urban environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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19 pages, 7436 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automatic Detection of Near-Surface Targets for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Magnetic Survey

by Yaxin Mu, Xiaojuan Zhang, Wupeng Xie and Yaoxin Zheng

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(3), 452; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12030452 - 01 Feb 2020

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7438

Abstract

Great progress has been made in the integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) magnetic measurement systems, but the interpretation of UAV magnetic data is facing serious challenges. This paper presents a complete workflow for the detection of the subsurface objects, like Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), by the UAV-borne magnetic survey. The elimination of interference field generated by the drone and an improved Euler deconvolution are emphasized. The quality of UAV magnetic data is limited by the UAV interference field. A compensation method based on the signal correlation is proposed to remove the UAV interference field, which lays the foundation for the subsequent interpretation of UAV magnetic data. An improved Euler deconvolution is developed to estimate the location of underground targets automatically, which is the combination of YOLOv3 (You Only Look Once version 3) and Euler deconvolution. YOLOv3 is a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN)-based image and video detector and it is applied in the context of magnetic survey for the first time, replacing the traditional sliding window. The improved algorithm is more satisfactory for the large-scale UAV-borne magnetic survey because of the simpler and faster workflow, compared with the traditional sliding window (SW)-based Euler method. The field test is conducted and the experimental results show that all procedures in the designed routine is reasonable and effective. The UAV interference field is suppressed significantly with root mean square error 0.5391 nT and the improved Euler deconvolution outperforms the SW Euler deconvolution in terms of positioning accuracy and reducing false targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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37 pages, 12203 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility Study of Tractor-Test Vehicle Technique for Practical Structural Condition Assessment of Beam-Like Bridge Deck

by Yang Yang, Quan Cheng, Yuanhao Zhu, Lilei Wang and Ruoyu Jin

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(1), 114; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12010114 - 01 Jan 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3669

Abstract

The tractor-test vehicle technique of non-destructive testing for indirect measurement of the modal properties of a bridge deck is revisited in this paper with several improvements for possible practical application to the structural condition assessment of a beam-like bridge deck. The effect of damping of the vehicle-bridge system is considered and the modal properties from only the first vibration mode of the structure will be used for a quick and simple assessment. The two test vehicles are designed to have the same modal frequency and damping ratio but with parameters in the follower No.2 test vehicle proportional to those in the follower No.1 test vehicle. This effectively removes the effect of road surface roughness in the response of an equivalent vehicle such that the error in the subsequent condition assessment is reduced. Through data collected on-sitetransmitted to theremote computer platform, a simple technique based on the moment-curvature relationship acceptable to practical engineers is adopted for the condition assessment with improvements in the estimation of the element bending stiffness of the deck. Scenarios with different damping, vehicle speed, road surface roughness, and local damages in the bridge structure are studied with or without temperature effect in the measurement. Through numerical simulations and field tests, the tractor-test vehicle technique of non-destructive testing with the proposed modifications and improvements has been demonstrated to give consistently accurate estimates of the element bending stiffness of the bridge deck but with a small error close to the end of the deck. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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14 pages, 5071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Railway Ballast Monitoring by GPR: A Test-Site Investigation

by Luca Bianchini Ciampoli, Alessandro Calvi and Fabrizio D’Amico

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(20), 2381; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs11202381 - 14 Oct 2019

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5732

Abstract

Effective maintenance of railways requires a comprehensive assessment of the actual condition of the construction materials involved. In this regard, Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) stands as a viable alternative to the invasive and time-consuming traditional techniques for the inspection of these infrastructures. This work reports the experimental activities carried out on a test-site area within a railway depot in Rome, Italy. To this purpose, a 30 m-long railway section was divided into ten sub-sections reproducing different various physical and structural conditions of the track-bed. For more detail, combinations of varying scenarios of fragmentation and fouling of the ballast were reproduced. The set-up was then investigated using different multi-frequency GPR horn antenna systems. The effects of the different physical conditions of ballast on the electromagnetic response of the material were analysed for each scenario using time- and frequency-domain signal processing techniques. Parallel to this, modelling was provided to estimate fouling content. Interpretation of results has proven the viability of the GPR method in detecting signs of decay at the network level, thereby proving this technique to be worthy of implementation in asset management systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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14 pages, 6667 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Magnetic Survey at the Roman Military Camp of el Benian in Mauretania Tingitana (Morocco): Results and Implications

by Francesco Martorella

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(1), 28; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13010028 - 23 Dec 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2776

Abstract

The topic of military settlements and the role of troops in the northern provinces of North Africa during the age of the Roman Empire has recently gained a strong interest in historical, archaeological, epigraphical, and economic studies. In particular, at Mauretania Tingitana (in the north-east area of modern-day Morocco), the presence of numerous military camps in the Early and Later Roman Empire has now been assessed. In this framework, the present work deals with the geophysical survey, by means of magnetometry, at the site of el Benian, where the largest military camp is located. In particular, the magnetic survey has highlighted the organization of the camp, almost totally unknown previously. The result of the magnetic survey has confirmed intense building activity over the centuries and made it possible to identify and characterize the structures typical of a military field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Data Fusion, Integration and Advances of Non-destructive Testing Methods in Engineering and Geosciences)

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