Estimation of Water Stagnation in Asphalt-Overlaid Bridges Using Ground-Penetrating Radar

Stagnant water in asphalt-overlaid bridge decks is a primary cause of deterioration. Rainwater seeping through the asphalt layer stagnates on waterproofing membranes of the bridge deck, consequently degrading the asphalt pavement and the underlying concrete deck. Thus, identifying ponding regions under pavements potentially containing water can facilitate the prognostic maintenance of bridge decks. This study proposes a framework to estimate the subsurface ponding zone in bridge decks using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The depth distribution of the nonpermeable layer in the subsurface of the bridge is extracted (depth map) from the GPR C-scan using a conventional thickness evaluation method and used to build a bathymetric dendrogram to model subsurface water flows. The subsurface ponding zone can be identified by considering drainage on the bathymetric dendrogram. The proposed framework is demonstrated using an in-service bridge in Korea. The estimated subsurface ponding zone is compared with damage locations of concrete observed after hydrodemolition.

Automated summary

This study proposes a framework to estimate the subsurface ponding zone in bridge decks using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The depth distribution of the nonpermeable layer in the subsurface of the bridge is extracted from the GPR C-scan and used to build a bathymetric dendrogram to model subsurface water flows. The subsurface ponding zone can be identified by considering drainage on the bathymetric dendrogram.