• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.615-623
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• 2023

Crack detection is an essential method to ensure the safety of dam concrete structures. Low-quality crack images of dam concrete structures limit the application of neural network methods in crack detection. This research proposes a modified attentional mechanism model to reduce the disturbance caused by uneven light, shadow, and water spots in crack images. Also, the focal loss function solves the small ratio of crack information. The dataset collects from the network, laboratory and actual inspection dataset of dam concrete structures. This research proposes a novel method for crack detection of dam concrete structures based on the U-Net neural network, namely AF-UNet. A mutual comparison of OTSU, Canny, region growing, DeepLab V3+, SegFormer, U-Net, and AF-UNet (proposed) verified the detection accuracy. A binocular camera detects cracks in the experimental scene. The smallest measurement width of the system is 0.27 mm. The potential goal is to achieve real-time detection and localization of cracks in dam concrete structures.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.309-316
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• 1998

In this paper, a newly derived formulation of a crack detection model is presented and its feasibility to detect cracks in structures is verified experimentally. To meet this objective, the followig approach is utilized. Firstly, the crack detection scheme which consists of the damage localization model and the crack detection model is formulated. Secondly, the feasibility and practicality of the complete procedure of the crack detection model is evaluated by locating and sizing cracks in clamped-clamped beams for which a f3w modal parameters were measured for sixteen uncracked and cracked states. Major results observed from the crack detection exercises include that far most damage cases, the predicted crack locations falls within very close to the inflicted locations of cracks in the test beam and the size of crack values estimated at the predicted locations are very close to the inflicted magnitudes.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.722-729
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• 2000

The goal of this paper is to describe an advanced method of a crack detection: a new way to localize position and to estimate depth of a crack on rotating shaft. As a first step, the shaft is physically modelled with a finite element method and the dynamic mathematical model is derived using the Hamilton principle; thus, the system is represented by various subsystems. The equations of motion of the shaft with a crack are established by adapting the local stiffness change through breathing and gaping from the crack to an undamaged shaft. This is the reference system for the given system. Based on a model for transient behavior induced from vibration measured at the bearings, a nonlinear state observer is designed to detect cracks on the shaft. This is the elementary NL-observer (Beo). Using the observer, an Estimator (Observer Bank) is established and arranged at the certain position on the shaft. When a crack position is localized, the procedure for estimating of the depth is engaged.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.301-310
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• 2020

The laser ultrasonic technique is gaining popularity for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) applications because it is a noncontact and couplant-free method and can inspect a target from a remote distance. For the conventional laser ultrasonic techniques, a pulsed laser is often used to generate broadband ultrasonic waves in a target structure. However, for crack detection using nonlinear ultrasonic modulation, it is necessary to generate narrowband ultrasonic waves. In this study, a pulsed laser is shaped into dual-line arrays using a spatial mask and used to simultaneously excite narrowband ultrasonic waves in the target structure at two distinct frequencies. Nonlinear ultrasonic modulation will occur between the two input frequencies when they encounter a fatigue crack existing in the target structure. Then, a nonlinear damage index (DI) is defined as a function of the magnitude of the modulation components and computed over the target structure by taking advantage of laser scanning. Finally, the fatigue crack is detected and localized by visualizing the nonlinear DI over the target structure. Numerical simulations and experimental tests are performed to examine the possibility of generating narrowband ultrasonic waves using the spatial mask. The performance of the proposed fatigue crack localization technique is validated by conducting an experiment with aluminum plates containing real fatigue cracks.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.355-361
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• 2012

This paper presents an experimental study on the detection and location of nonlinear scattering source due to the presence of fatigue crack in a laboratory specimen. The proposed technique is based on a combination of nonlinear elastic wave spectroscopy(NEWS) and time reversal(TR) focusing approach. In order to focus on the nonlinear scattering position due to the fatigue crack, we employed only one transmitting transducer and one receiving transducer, taking advantage of long duration of reception signal that includes multiple linear scattering such as mode conversion and boundary reflections. NEWS technique was then used as a pre-treatment of TR for spatial focusing of reemitted second harmonic signal. The robustness of this approach was demonstrated on a cracked specimen and the nonlinear TR focusing behavior is observed on the crack interface from which the second harmonic signal was originated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2023

Fatigue crack is a fatal problem for steel structures. Early detection and maintenance can help extend the service life and prevent hazards. This paper presents the ultrasonic guided waves-based (UGWs-based) fatigue crack detection of a steel I-beam. The semi-analytical finite element model has been built to obtain the wave propagation characteristics. Damage indices in both time and frequency domains were analyzed by considering the characteristic variations of UGWs including the amplitude, phase angle, and wave packet energy. The pulse-echo and pitch-catch methods were combined in the detection scheme. Lab-scale experiments were conducted on welded steel I-beams to verify the proposed method. Results show that the damage indices based on the characteristic variations in the time domain can identify and localize the fatigue crack before it enters the rapid growth stage. The damage severity can be reasonably evaluated by analyzing the time-domain damage indices. Two nonlinear damage indices in the frequency domain give earlier warnings of the fatigue crack than the time-domain damage indices do. The identification results based on the above two nonlinear indices are found to be less consistent under various excitation frequencies. More robust nonlinear techniques needed to be searched and tested for early crack detection in steel I-beams in further study.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.686-695
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• 2012

This paper proposes a noncontact thermography technique for fatigue crack evaluation under a cyclic tensile loading. The proposed technique identifies and localizes an invisible fatigue crack without scanning, thus making it possible to instantaneously evaluate an incipient fatigue crack. Based on a thermoelastic theory, a new fatigue crack evaluation algorithm is proposed for the fatigue crack-tip localization. The performance of the proposed algorithm is experimentally validated. To achieve this, the cyclic tensile loading is applied to a dog-bone shape aluminum specimen using a universal testing machine, and the corresponding thermal responses induced by thermoelastic effects are captured by an infrared camera. The test results confirm that the fatigue crack is well identified and localized by comparing with its microscopic images.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.152-159
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• 2024

Cracks in structural materials present a critical challenge to infrastructure safety and long-term durability. Timely and precise crack detection is essential for proactive maintenance and the prevention of catastrophic structural failures. This study introduces an innovative approach to tackle this issue using U-Net deep learning architecture. The primary objective of the intended research is to explore the potential of U-Net in enhancing the precision and efficiency of crack detection across various concrete crack detection under various environmental conditions. Commencing with the assembling by a comprehensive dataset featuring diverse images of concrete cracks, optimizing crack visibility and facilitating feature extraction through advanced image processing techniques. A wide range of concrete crack images were collected and used advanced techniques to enhance their visibility. The U-Net model, well recognized for its proficiency in image segmentation tasks, is implemented to achieve precise segmentation and localization of concrete cracks. In terms of accuracy, our research attests to a substantial advancement in automated of 95% across all tested concrete materials, surpassing traditional manual inspection methods. The accuracy extends to detecting cracks of varying sizes, orientations, and challenging lighting conditions, underlining the systems robustness and reliability. The reliability of the proposed model is measured using performance metrics such as, precision(93%), Recall(96%), and F1-score(94%). For validation, the model was tested on a different set of data and confirmed an accuracy of 94%. The results shows that the system consistently performs well, even with different concrete types and lighting conditions. With real-time monitoring capabilities, the system ensures the prompt detection of cracks as they emerge, holding significant potential for reducing risks associated with structural damage and achieving substantial cost savings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.319-334
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• 2023

Localizing damages is an essential task to monitor the health of the structures since they may not be able to operate anymore. Among the damage detection techniques, non-destructive methods are considerably more preferred than destructive methods since damage can be located without affecting the structural integrity. However, these methods have several drawbacks in terms of detecting abilities, time consumption, cost, and hardware or software requirements. Employing artificial intelligence techniques could overcome such issues and could provide a powerful damage detection model if the technique is utilized correctly. In this study, the crack localization in flat and folded plate structures has been conducted by employing a Backpropagated Artificial Neural Network (BPANN). For this purpose, cracks with 18 different dimensions in thin, flat, and folded structures having 15⁰, 30⁰, 45⁰, and 60⁰ folding angle have been modeled and subjected to free vibration analysis by employing the Classical Plate Theory with Finite Element Method. A Four-nodded quadrilateral element having six degrees of freedom has been considered to represent those structures mathematically. The first ten natural frequencies have been obtained regarding healthy and cracked structures. To localize the crack, the ratios of the frequencies of the cracked flat and folded structures to those of healthy ones have been taken into account. Those ratios have been given to BPANN as the input variables, while the crack locations have been considered as the output variables. A total of 500 crack locations have been regarded within the dataset obtained from the results of the free vibration analysis. To build the best intelligent model, a feature search has been conducted for BAPNN regarding activation function, the number of hidden layers, and the number of hidden neurons. Regarding the analysis results, it is concluded that the BPANN is able to localize the cracks with an average accuracy of 95.12%.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.8 no.11
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• pp.449-456
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• 2019

This paper is a study on the construction of a wall-climbing mobile robot using vacuum suction and wheel-type movement, and a comparison of the performance of an automatic wall crack detection algorithm based on machine learning that is suitable for such an embedded environment. In the embedded system environment, we compared performance by applying recently developed learning methods such as YOLO for object learning, and compared performance with existing edge detection algorithms. Finally, in this study, we selected the optimal machine learning method suitable for the embedded environment and good for extracting the crack features, and compared performance with the existing methods and presented its superiority. In addition, intelligent problem - solving function that transmits the image and location information of the detected crack to the manager device is constructed.