Search for: All records

Bridges play a key role in supporting the transportation network in the United States. The 2021 infrastructure report card prepared by ASCE highlighted that more than 40% of bridges in the U.S. are over 50 years old. Some of these bridges are classified as structurally deficient, even though they are safe to travel. To address these challenges, highway agencies are exploring innovative technologies to conduct inspections and realize benefits in relation to access, cost, and safety. Federal and state DOTs have conducted several studies on the application of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for bridge health monitoring. This study identified the existing knowledge gap in performing 360° inspection of bridges. In this current research, UAVs were demonstrated for conducting 360° inspections of three different bridges in Alaska. The locations of the aerial images during the inspections were also pictographically represented to provide a holistic idea for the highway agencies and practitioners. Three-dimensional models representing the actual conditions of the bridge were generated and used for comparing the bridge condition assessments with traditional inspection reports. Infrared imagery was also collected to identify the effect of thermal loading in assessing the conditions of the bridge elements. The applicability and recommendation scale for the use of UAVs for different bridge inspections was provided. The approach demonstrated in this study is expected to result in more than 90% savings in storage requirements and contribute to an increase in the applications of UAVs for conducting 360° bridge inspections across the U.S. 

Airports facilitate the fastest mode of transportation and connect local communities and businesses with national and international destinations. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 infrastructure report card rated the aviation infrastructure category with a D+. This highlights the need for frequent monitoring and performing timely preservation techniques to ensure the optimal performance of the asset. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) periodically inspects the regional airports in Texas through visual surveys and estimates the pavement condition index (PCI) for each airport on a network scale. These ratings are used to assess the need for rehabilitation in a timely manner. In this study, an attempt was made to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mounted with an optical camera to inspect and evaluate the condition of various airport assets. Several observations were outlined to conduct a safe inspection of airport assets using UAVs. A comparison of PCI values, grouped into three categories, obtained from traditional and aerial inspections was made to understand the feasibility of using this new technology for airport asset management. It was observed that both inspections classified most of the airport assets similarly. The traditional inspection was observed to be quicker as it requires inspection of only sampled units, however, UAV data processing takes a relatively long time to offer a comprehensive digital footprint and immersive visualization experience of the whole airport assets. Overall, UAVs are identified to have a great potential as a data collection tool supplementary to the current traditional practices.