Title:
Sampling Techniques for Evaluating Large Concrete Structures: Part
Author(s):
Tamara Jadik Williams, Linda K. Nozick, Mary J. Sansalone, Randall W. Poston,
and Keith Kesner
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
103
Issue:
4
Appears on pages(s):
505-512
Keywords:
corrosion; sampling; test
DOI:
10.14359/16426
Date:
7/1/2006
Abstract:
Large structures present numerous possible test locations for a nondestructive evaluation. Challenges lie in selecting test locations, managing collected data, and stating testing results. This research evaluated the feasibility of using sampling methods to assist in these tasks. To assess the methods’ applicability, sampling was applied to data from actual structures that had previously been extensively tested. The researchers could then compare their predictions based on sampling to actual results from comprehensive testing. These studies demonstrated that sampling methods are useful at determining the number of samples and their locations. The results can effectively be stated as a confidence interval, presenting a range for the prediction based on an acceptable uncertainty. In this paper, the procedure (including simple random, systematic, and adaptive sampling) is applied to a 7.5 mi (12 km) long reinforced concrete seawall, where the aim was to locate delaminations caused by corrosion of the reinforcing bars.