Robotic destructive and nondestructive testing of concrete structures

Structural elements may develop defects due to severe environmental conditions. Nondestructive testing is a common method for structural evaluations; however, these structures may be inaccessible or located in unsafe areas. In this paper, a Sawyer robot was employed to carry nondestructive testing (NDT) sensors such as Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) and Impact Echo (IE). The experiment comprised twelve reinforced concrete beams divided into four groups: Control (without defects), Void, Corrosion, and Debonding. The beams underwent three-point bending tests, with loads distributed across three levels: 50 %, 75 %, and 100 % of the failure load. Robotic and handheld IE and GPR tests were conducted, with IE performed before the actual test and GPR conducted before, during, and after the tests. Load-displacement diagrams were subsequently generated. The comparison between robotic and handheld tests demonstrated the high accuracy of the robotic NDT and indicated that the defects led to reduced load capacity and increased crack propagation.