Infrared Thermographic Analysis of Bridges: Case Study

Infrared thermography has various applications within civil engineering areas. One such application was explored. A survey was carried out to investigate the presence of temperature anomalies that may indicate the existence of delaminations on the underside of a concrete bridge deck. A case study investigating a number of bridge spans from the ground by an infrared survey is reported. The brief required an infrared thermographic survey of Span 5 of the bridge. In the event, however, the technique was so time efficient that infrared and visual images were taken over five spans, with concentration on one span in which there were known areas of delamination. The known areas of delamination were found, as were a number of other areas of possible delamination. The delaminations were found by the infrared thermographic survey despite the worst possible ambient temperature conditions and even though the infrared camera could not be positioned far enough away to survey the entire span at the same time.