CONCRETE ROT DETECTION

[BIZ/SCI-TECH: Aachen, October 2]
As concrete can take push but cannot resist pull, it is reinforced with steel. A risk is that the salting of roads in winter or salt from construction near the sea will penetrate the porous concrete and attack the steel. In the worse case the surface will no longer be useable. When the problem is visible from the outside it’s much too late. If a parking garage robot is able to detect the state of the steel in advance, this is clearly preferable.. The robots will be able to operate independently in the area, collecting all of the data in a particular section and then storing it with area coordinates. These machines can cover 2,000m2 per day. The market is ready for them. The sensors are built into the steel during construction and a cable system links to monitoring equipment, providing prior warning.

The initiative for this development was a partnership between Aachen and Ningbo in China as part of which scientists are exchanged. A 36km bridge Between Ningbo and Shanghai has been under construction since 2003.
http://www.aachen.ihk.de/