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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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      <title>Evaluation of Load Ratings for Alaska Legal Loads Exempted by Federal Law</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2512619</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In Alaska, the gross vehicle weight (GVW) is not specified. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is working with Modjeski and Masters to evaluate how this could affect the bridge inventory. The study includes the review of weigh-in-motion (WIM) data, overload permit history, current bridge inventory capacity, plus AASHTO and National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) requirements. The research study deliverables include (1) development of a notional load, rating formula, recommended maximum GVW, and live load factors to address loads on designated Alaska Interstate routes which conform to state legal limits but exceed the 80,000-pound Interstate GVW limit, (2) analysis of vehicles from legal loads up to 125% of state legal loads, and (3) recommended reduced inspection frequencies according to the new NBIS requirements for any affected bridges.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:37:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2512619</guid>
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      <title>Synthesis on the Scour Appraisal Process and Scour Plan of Action</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2096574</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will compile and document the process for National Bridge Inspection Standards scour appraisals and plans of action.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2023 14:49:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2096574</guid>
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      <title>Climbing Robots with Automated Deployment of Sensors and NDE Devices for Steel Bridge Inspection (AS-2)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1482661</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The PI was a research scientist/faculty at Rutgers University who successfully developed in 2014 a Robotic Assisted Bridge Inspection Tool (RABIT) for bridge deck inspections. Other bridge elements, such as girders and columns, or even underside of bridge decks are difficult to access and remain a challenge for efficient inspection. Like visual inspection, current practices for bridge maintenance are equally time consuming and expensive. Automation of simple maintenance actions such as bearing cleaning and concrete sealing with robots will lead to a leap forward to the next-generation strategy of bridge maintenance.
Approach and Methodology: Prior experience with RABITTM  will be leveraged to provide an automated solution for consistent and reliable steel bridge inspection with high efficiency and safety assurance. 3D computer simulations of various robotic designs will first be conducted to understand the function of each component and how all components are integrated to achieve the ultimate design goal. A preliminary climbing robotic system with four magnetic wheels can adhere to the surface of steel elements and a laser scanner to assist in autonomous localization and navigation of the robotic system. Prototypes will then be built and tested to verify their performance in laboratory and field conditions. Finally, a mechanism will be designed for automated deployment of sensors and NDE devices once a robot climbs to a pre-determined area.
Overall Objectives: This project aims to develop and prototype automated climbing robotic platforms for steel bridge inspection and evaluation with support of visual and 3D LiDAR for navigation in GPS-denied environments, develop an NDE device or sensors deployment strategy with a mechanical limb, and evaluate the condition of steel bridges based on data collected from the device or sensors.
Scope of Work in Year 1: (1) Design, build, and test a climbing robot with no more than 110-N payload of an inertial measurement unit, a mini-camera, a small LiDAR, NDE sensors (e.g., eddy current), a lightweight onboard computer, a Wi-Fi module, and two or three batteries for at least 60 minute operation in field condition, (2) Develop and integrate a small limb into the climbing robot to perform eddy current measurement on steel structures, and (3) Develop localization and navigation algorithms in GPS-denied environments for autonomous maneuver of the climbing robot.
Scope of Work in Year 2: (1) Improve both software and hardware designs, and (2) Develop navigation algorithms for these climbing robots.
Scope of Work in Year 3: (1) Continue to explore more efficient designs to ensure that the robots can climb on complex steel structures or transition smoothly from one surface to the other without falling off, and (2) Develop localization and path planning algorithms to allow the robot to safely and efficiently navigate on the bridge structure members to perform inspection.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 13 Sep 2017 20:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1482661</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Rapid Condition Screening of Bridges by Falling Weight Deflectometer</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1339688</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed project aims to develop an experimental method for rapidly determining the condition of a bridge in terms of its stiffness through the use of a standard Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). The development of a rapid and reliable experimental means for quantitatively establishing the condition of a bridge offers great promise for improving the rationality and reliability of bridge management decisions. Presently, such management decisions must be made on the basis of structural condition evaluations using the results of visual inspection. Such evaluations are subject to many limitations and uncertainties that result from the the use of visual inspection data. It is believed that many of the limitations and uncertainties in the condition assessment of structures can be addressed by injecting quantitative experimental data into the condition assessment process. The proposer believes that the FWD can be utilized to rapidly perform dynamic testing of a bridge structure that will yield quantitative data that reflects the in-situ local and global condition. Such data will not only provide a more realistic and reliable assessment of bridge condition, it will also provide a rational baseline of the structure's condition that can be subsequently tracked and evaluated in subsequent tests to provide quantitative measures of any changes in condition relative to that baseline.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:29:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1339688</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Manual for Assessing the Service Life of Corrosion-Deteriorated Reinforced Concrete Members in Highway Bridges in West Virginia</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1324622</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Corrosion-induced deterioration of reinforced concrete bridge superstructure members is a common and costly problem in the United States. In a recent report to Congress, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reported that of the nation's 577,000 bridges 134,000 were classified as structurally deficient. According to the July 9, 2010 Bridge Data Book published by The West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) 979 of the 6,789 bridges in West Virginia are classified as structurally deficient. Structurally deficient bridges are those that are closed, have a low load posting, or that require rehabilitation or replacement. Approximately 40 percent of the current backlog of highway bridge repair and rehabilitation costs is directly attributed to the corrosion of reinforced concrete bridge elements. WVDOH is not unique in that they use visual inspection as a valid technique to monitor the extent of cracking and damage for bridge members. This visual inspection technique would allow bridge inspectors and bridge engineers of old to determine the extent of the maintenance required for each bridge member. However, various techniques have been developed over the years to assess the condition of concrete bridge elements that will assist today's bridge engineers in making these decisions with more reliability. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify or develop suitable procedures for assessing the condition of corrosion-deteriorated bridge members, estimating their expected remaining service life, and determining the effects of maintenance and repair options on their service life.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2014 01:00:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1324622</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Robotic Inspection of Bridges Using Impact-Echo Technology</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1262508</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The aging civil infrastructure across the United States has been under the spot light due to recent bridge failures such as the I-35W bridge collapse. Many concrete and steel bridges that were built in the mid 20th century in response to the boom of automobiles are reaching their life expectancy, leaving questions about their structural integrity and deterioration levels. Millions of dollars have been invested each year to inspect bridge components using various technologies such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and seismic pavement analyzer (PSA). These equipments are normally large and carried by trucks to monitor the health of the steel reinforced concrete bridge decks. However, for some difficult to access components (e.g., bridge foundations and pillars underneath decks), it lacks effective tools for regular inspection. A common method of under bridge inspection using snooper truck by a 2-man evaluation team with handheld non-destructive evaluation (NDE) devices is proposed. Among the available NDE devices, handheld impact-echo (IE) is the most commonly used technology for evaluating concrete and masonry structures. The current practice of manual inspection has to block traffic, and is time-consuming, expensive, and exposes human workers to dangerous situations. The project proposes to develop an automatic impact-echo system on board a specially designed wall-climbing robot to automate the inspection process. Compared with manual inspection, the wall-climbing robot will be able to scan vertical surfaces of bridge foundations and horizontal surfaces at the bottom of bridge decks, reach hard-to-access places, take close-up pictures, record and send impact-echo data wirelessly to host computer, and log global positioning systems (GPS) coordinates at every test point in a software system for further analysis. A group of such wall-climbing robots can do the inspection task simultaneously, making the automated inspection faster and more thorough than manual inspection, thus saving time and money, while making the national civic infrastructure more secure.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2013 01:00:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1262508</guid>
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      <title>Subsurface Imaging of Corrosion in Painted Steel Bridges</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1238473</link>
      <description><![CDATA[According to a comprehensive study carried out by CC Technologies in 1998, cost of corrosion to the US economy was 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1998 amounting to $276 billions (FHWA-RD-­01-­156). From that amount, $121 billion was spent on corrosion control, from which $107 billion was spent on protective coatings. It was reported that better corrosion protection could save up 40% of that cost. Improved practices were sited as better coating quality control and effective inspection at time of coating application, routine/periodic coating inspection during the service life of the structure, and appropriate repair action when coating degradation, delaminate or substrate corrosion is detected. In 2007, New York University Polytechnic Institute was awarded a grant by the gas industry to evaluate infrared thermography as a method for detection of early onset of corrosion in gas pipelines beneath the protective coating. Results indicated that it is possible to detect corrosion at stages earlier than it is possible to detect with current ultrasonic thickness gauges and it is possible to detect poor quality coating, such as the presence of air blisters, even in the absence of corrosion. Furthermore thermal imaging is a two dimensional technique and lends itself for inspection and documentation of surfaces. A  preliminary analysis of the application of infrared thermography as a tool for subsurface condition assessment of painted steel bridges is proposed. The objective is to detect early onset of corrosion and to detect paint delamination, both of which are not possible by visual inspection. Currently, federal guidelines hold the contractor responsible for the coating quality, however there is no practical methodology for evaluating the coating and subsurface condition.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:00:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1238473</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Phase I Project for Integrating Intelligent Structure Technology for Refining Bridge Inspection in Mississippi</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1230063</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Current bridge inspections are mostly performed by visual inspections that may not reliably identify all defects in a timely manner. Given today's increasingly crowded and aging bridge systems, these inspections can not assure bridge safety and cost-effective maintenance. Intelligent Structure Technology (IST) integrates smart sensors, data acquisition, microprocessor, and communication technology and could identify the presence and extent of damage in bridges. The FHWA has recognized this need and created a framework for Development of Model Structural Health Monitoring Guide for Major Bridges. Several states had started applying this technology into new or existing bridges and refine their bridge inspection. Implementation of intelligent transportation system is an interdisciplinary research frontier for managing transportation system and securing its safety operation. The proposed project is the Phase I of a roadmap towards developing and transferring intelligent damage diagnosis technologies for assessing bridge conditions and supporting decision-making for bridge maintenance in Mississippi. It will focus on research on the detrimental bridge deteriorations in Mississippi and their analytical modeling, transfer of sensing technology to meet the need of bridge inspection in Mississippi, and education on IST for diverse students and professionals.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:53:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1230063</guid>
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