Advance Movable Bridge Inspection Technologies for Bridge Preservation and Maintenance

Moveable bridges like drawbridges, swing bridges, etc. have been around for a long time. An early version would be a draw bridge that goes over a moat to protect a castle from invaders.  Over time no matter what the materials all of these bridges need to be inspected.  In the US. The federal government requires that bridges including moveable bridges draw bridges be inspected every two years.

Although, movable bridges are found in many forms and many styles some of which include Drawbridge, Bascule bridge, Folding bridge., Curling bridge., Vertical-lift bridge. Table bridge, Retractable bridge (Thrust bridge), Rolling bascule bridge, etc.. 

Types of movable bridge

* Vertical lifts – the bridge deck is raised to allow passage to any vessel

* Bascules – vehicular deck moved from horizontal position to vertical position or near to vertical position.

* Swings – Bridge deck pivots in the horizontal position creating two channels for vessel passage

* Drawbridge - a bridge, especially one over a castle's moat, that is hinged at one end so that it may be raised to prevent people's crossing or to allow vessels to pass under it.

The dynamic nature of the these bridges and their location near the water bodies especially salt water, make them vulnerable to rusting and other micro damages therefore periodic inspection is very important in their smooth functioning and preservation. The fact that they move also brings to mind the wear and tear imposed by heavy loads ,strained motors, hydraulics and gears.

Movable bridge inspection is of two types: Routine inspection (typically conducted every two years) and in – depth inspection for fracture critical or functionally obsolete bridges (typically conducted every year). “Routine inspections have been conducted the same way for years. As bridges age a manual, visual or subjective inspection is just not adequate to be able to properly assess a bridges current condition or to allocate available assets properly” says Doug Thaler of Infrastructure Preservation Corporation.  “Our company took the current inspection requirements and added modern technology and robotics to create a comprehensive inspection of a drawbridge within the department of transportation’s current budget. Another words within the same budget or for the same price but with much more quantitative data.”

In depth movable bridge inspection is detailed evaluation of the physical and mechanical and structural condition of the movable bridge. Conventional movable bridge inspection  are manual, subjective and sometime involves intrusive and destructive methods to quantify and document the deterioration level. This leaves the bridge in worse shape than it was originally found.

At Infrastructure Preservation Corporation (IPC), we provide the most advanced non destructive and non intrusive technology for thorough condition assessment during routine or in – depth movable bridge inspection. Our advanced but easy to use technology allows the bridge inspector and other staff to evaluate the condition of movable bridge with utmost safety and without disturbing the ongoing traffic on bridge deck. Infrastructure Preservation Corporations, (IPC) structural health monitoring can also tell when something is going wrong before a drawbridge gets stuck and traffic is held up.  By being able to know before a motor goes bad or when hydraulic fluid needs to be replaced it can minimize or eliminate emergency calls and an angry public.

Our movable bridge inspection methods conform to FHWA & AASHTO requirements and uses non invasive technologies and cutting edge technologies to collect accurate data about internal cracks, damage, minor or major deterioration, electrical problems, gear issues. Full mechanical and operational issues as well as structure critical and fracture critical items.

Moreover, data collected during routine inspection helps in detecting early stage deterioration and maintenance issues that can cause a drawbridge or moveable bridge to be stuck in the up position requiring emergency repair. The quantitative data provided by IPC allows the  decision makers to take appropriate actions to properly maintain or repair a drawbridge For more information about our products and services visit www.infrastructurepc.com and contact us for further assistance.

Why bridge inspection is important?

Bridge inspection is crucial part of bridge maintenance. This practice assures that whatever lies over, between and beneath the bridge surface remain intact and in good working condition. A bridge inspection report includes all the main points which need to be repaired or replaced.

Although, bridge inspection might sound like that it is only a bridge deck assessment but it involves detailed evaluation of every component of the bridge therefore it is a time consuming, labour intensive and expensive practice.  The major important reasons of bridge inspection are:

Safety and assurance

To insure that bridges remain safe for  ongoing traffic bridge inspections are conducted every two years.  If a bridge was found to have any deficiencies than those bridges are inspected every year.  The routine or in – depth bridge inspection  should indicate that the bridge is safe for everyone. Regular periodic inspection gives confidence to people and bridge owner that its capacity is well maintained.

Maintenance

By conducting regular bridge inspections and maintaining them properly they can be kept free from any cracks, voids, rusting and other kinds of deteriorations. The maintenance crew work according to the recommendations provided in the inspection reports. By attending to these issues early in a bridge or other structures lifecycle the bridges life expectancy can be extended indefinitely.

Monitoring

It is important to repair any component, track the level of minor or major deterioration, additional damages. Generally, many components of bridge are similar in length, shape and size therefore it is more important to check if other similar components are also affected by deteriorating factor or not. By comparing future inspection cycles we can compare deterioration progression over time and address the most urgent issues in order of importance.

Repairing

It can save lots of time and money spent on manufacturing and installation of new components. Sometimes, minor repairing can increase the life span of the affected component of the structure but if the sum of all repairs costs more than replacement then the latter option is the best option. Bridge inspection report provides data to the decision makers so that they can make the best budgetary and safety decision.

Planning

The Bridge inspection report helps in planning ahead and budgeting maintenance and repairs on  a bridge to increase its life span and maintain its capacity. Bridge inspection reports provides detailed condition assessment of whole structure so that you can prioritize the repairs according to severity, repair cost and budget restraints. There is certainly not enough money to either replace every bridge or repair every issue on every bridge.

Infrastructure Preservation Corporation (IPC) is a trusted name in bridge inspection and preservation as well as high mast light pole inspections. Our non intrusive and no destructive patented technologies makes bridge inspections much safer for the inspection crews, provides accurate condition assessment reports with actionable items. Our patented robotic inspection devices along with our proprietary inspection methods like BridgeScan® PoleScan®, CrackScan®, TendonScan® and others are able to provide much more quantitative data than ever seen before. Many of these inspections no longer require road closures or heavy equipment like bucket trucks to be parked on a bridge. This prevents accidents, saves the department of transportation money and no longer inconveniences the public, says Doug Thaler of Infrastructure Preservation Corporation. Our use of modern technology and robotics  produce quantitative data that the asset owners so badly need to properly understand the condition of their infrastructure. As bridges and other infrastructure assets continue to age we need to better understand their current condition in order to properly maintain them. Up till now this information did not exist. Why do you think our bridges are in the shape that they’re in.

For more information, you can contact us at info@infrastructurepc.com  or visit our website. 

https://www.infrastructurepc.com/

Advance Complex Bridge Inspection Technologies For Bridge Preservation And Maintenance

Bridges are an integral part of any countries success as being able to get goods to market quickly and efficiently gives a major economic advantage to countries that have the best infrastructures.  Complex bridge inspection is a preventive maintenance step to increase the integrity and life of a complex bridge.

Infrastructure Preservation Corporation (IPC) is the leading company in infrastructure testing providing its non intrusive and non destructive inspection services to inspect various parts of our infrastructure including bridge inspection, roadway inspection etc. With an experienced and expert research and development team, we have taken non destructive inspection services to a new level by providing the quantitative about the integrity of any infrastructure like bridges so that necessary steps can be taken before it is too late to repair them.  We have brought technology to an industry void of technology says Doug Thaler, Executive Vice President of Infrastructure Preservation Corporation.  The poor condition of our infrastructure is due to years of improper inspection guidelines that do not help asset managers understand the true condition of the infrastructure they are trying to inspect. In all fairness says Doug Thaler, the current guidelines incentivize the asset managers not to change.  With the current
condition of our infrastructure, bridges and high mast light poles, the asset managers more than ever need quantitative data that with our modern technology and robotics can now be supplied within current budgets.

For complex bridge inspections, we have different advanced technologies like Cablestay scan (CableScan®), Tendon scan (TendonScan®), Crack scan (CrackScan®) and column scan, (ColumnScan®) which can effectively collect accurate data about the bridges in short time without disturbing the traffic on the bridge deck, closing lanes or needing heavy equipment.

Some of the features of complex bridge inspection technologies are:

• Saves labour, time and money with non destructive methods

• Enhance safety of engineers and the public without the need for lane closures.

• Periodic inspections with these technologies detect any micro or macro level damage, defects and irregularities on the infrastructure before they become irreparable.

• Better than current subjective methods by providing accurate condition assessment reports in shortest time possible within the department of transportation and the ministry of transportation’s current budgets.

For more information contact Doug Thaler at 727-372-2900 ext.24 or email info@infrastructurepc.com

Overview of ipc Services

Designed to make infrastructure inspections more comprehensive and do away with lane closures,bucket trucks lifts (that delay traffic and cause accidents), perform daytime inspections and are less costly. IPC is focused on transportation infrastructure including bridge inspections and high mast light pole inspections.

Infrastructure Preservation Corporation has 6 primary services that include bridge inspections and high mast light pole inspections. Some of the inspection services are listed below.

CableScan® Cablescan® is a robotic device that ascends and descends Bridge Cablestays taking high definition videos & stills. It has the ability to maneuver around the grout ports on a cable if any.

There is a ground station that allows the inspector to see all four quadrants of the cable.  It can stop at any point and take detailed photos 30mp stills.  A Lidar attachment can get length width and depth of any anomaly’s .  Its meant to be operated in the daytime without lane closures or bucket trucks. It also measures the location on the cable stay that the issue is and where along the ground so if a bucket truck is required the exact location to park the repair truck is available.

Polescan® is a robotic device that ascends and descends a high mast light pole. PoleScan® takes hd video of the entire pole. Also stops if any issues are found and takes hd photos. The pole, seams and luminaries are all inspected with much greater detail than ever before.

Tendonscan® Tendonscan® inspects external tendons within box girders and the bridge tendons that hold up many of our nations bridges. TendonScan® identifies corrosion within the tendon to .1 percent. It’s a 2 part product. One is a device that goes around a tendon and can manually or robotically climb the tendon and locates the pre-cursors to corrosion, air, water and bleeding grout. The second device specifically locates section loss or corrosion.

Crackscan is a laser device that detects cracks in concrete and steel structures. CrackScan® can be used underneath box girders, slabs or from a distance. CrackScan® can locate cracks down to .005 from a distance of  100 feet away. The idea is for the inspection to be conducted during the day from the shoulder of the road.  No lane closures, nighttime inspections or boom trucks required. Takes less time and has been proven much more accurate than the current manual inspection process.

Bridgescan is another service that we have. It is a full bridge deck deterioration assessment.. BridgeScan® is meant to replace the chain dragging and provide a complete bridge deck and bridge approach way inspection. The inspection is so different from current methods that  it is patented.  The service utilizes ground penetrating radar / magnetics as part of the technology but takes bridge deck and bridge deck apporachway inspections to a whole new level.

ColumnScan® inspects the columns of a complex bridge. Where currently a manu is lowered from the surface with oxygen and visually looks for problems, ColumnScan® provides a whole new level of quantitative data.. It enters the columns of large segmental structures, decends down with extending and reticulating arms, high definition cameras and infrared allow for a complete inspection of the columns.with definition never seen before.

Each one of our inspections includes a comprehensive professional services assessment and can be signed and sealed by us depending on the state and their requirement.

For more information contact Doug Thaler at 727-372-2900 ext.24 or email info@infrastructurepc.com