How Safe is This Bridge?
Reported March 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The sudden collapse of the I-35 Minneapolis bridge that killed 13 people in August, left questions about the safety of our nation's bridges. Now, there is a new device that offers a high-tech approach to inspecting bridges.
Each day, we depend on bridges to carry the weight of millions of vehicles. But all that traffic can weaken a bridge, and many aging bridges are also prone to corrosion. Engineers regularly inspect bridges for damage, but checkups are limited to what the eyes can see.
"That type of inspection can only see damage that's occurring on the surface of the bridge," says Jerome Lynch, Ph.D., a civil engineer at the University of Michigan.
Now, civil engineers have a new device -- called a sensing skin -- to help find damage deep inside bridges that may be missed.
"So, this skin is applied to the surface of the bridge, and essentially can self-sense whether corrosion is occurring, cracking is occurring on that bridge," says Dr. Lynch.
The skin is a thin material, lined with electrical wires. An electric current is sent through the wires. If there is any corrosion or cracking inside the bridge, it will break the electrical current. A computer then creates a visual map of the change, which alerts inspectors exactly where damage is located.
"So, essentially, if the bridge cracks the skin will crack. If the bridge is corroding, the skin will also observe that corrosion," says Dr. Lynch.
Researchers expect the skin to also help inspect buildings and planes for hidden damage. Bridges are paving the way first for this high-tech device.
"Ultimately, they're going to render bridges safer," says Dr. Lynch … Helping all of us to cross safely to the other side. Researchers plan on field testing the sensing skin on bridges next year.
The American Society of Civil Engineers and the Materials Research Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:
Jerome Lynch, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125
(734) 615-5290
jerlynch@umich.edu
The American Society of Civil Engineers
Joan Buhrman
Reston, VA 20191-4400
(703) 295-6404
http://www.asce.org
jbuhrman@asce.org
Materials Research Society
Warrendale, PA 15086-7573
(724) 779-3003
webmaster@mrs.org
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