Advancements in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Methods for Structural Health Monitoring of Civil Infrastructure

A special issue of CivilEng (ISSN 2673-4109). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural and Earthquake Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 767

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Construction Management, Kennesaw State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Interests: structure; concrete; nondestructive evaluation (NDE); nondestructive testing (NDT); structural health monitoring (SHM); damage detection; corrosion monitoring

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Guest Editor
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30458, USA
Interests: nondestructive testing; acoustics; structural health monitoring; vibration analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to bring together innovative research and practical advancements in the field of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Testing (NDT) as applied to the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of infrastructure and structural materials. The Special Issue will focus on emerging technologies, methodologies, and applications of NDE and DNT techniques that support the assessment, maintenance, and life cycle management of structures such as bridges, buildings, pavements, dams, tunnels, and offshore platforms.

We welcome original research articles, case studies, and review papers that address the integration of NDE/NDT tools into SHM frameworks, the development of new sensing technologies, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in data interpretation, and the validation of NDE-based SHM approaches through experimental or field investigations.

Particular emphasis will be placed on contributions that:

  • Enhance the reliability and accuracy of NDE and NDT methods for in situ evaluation.
  • Explore the combination of multiple NDE techniques for comprehensive diagnostics.
  • Utilize data fusion, modeling, and simulation for interpreting SHM data.
  • Apply NDE in the detection and monitoring of damage mechanisms such as corrosion, cracking, delamination, fatigue, and debonding.
  • Discuss standards, field applications, and implementation challenges in real-world scenarios.

This Special Issue aims to serve as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, infrastructure managers, and policy-makers engaged in structural diagnostics, asset management, and predictive maintenance.

Dr. Saman Hedjazi
Dr. Hossein Taheri
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nondestructive evaluation (NDE)
  • nondestructive testing (NDT)
  • structural health monitoring (SHM)
  • infra-structure assessment
  • damage detection
  • ultrasonic testing
  • ground penetrating radar (GPR)
  • infrared thermography
  • acoustic emission
  • data fusion
  • AI in SHM
  • corrosion monitoring
  • civil structures

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 2354 KB  
Article
Application of Radar for Diagnosis of Defects in Concrete Structures: A Structured Image-Based Approach
by Saman Hedjazi, Macy Spears, Ehsanul Kabir and Hossein Taheri
CivilEng 2025, 6(3), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/civileng6030045 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 599
Abstract
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method increasingly used for evaluating concrete structures by identifying internal flaws and embedded objects. This study presents a structured image-based methodology for interpreting GPR B-scan data using a practical flowchart designed to aid in [...] Read more.
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method increasingly used for evaluating concrete structures by identifying internal flaws and embedded objects. This study presents a structured image-based methodology for interpreting GPR B-scan data using a practical flowchart designed to aid in distinguishing common subsurface anomalies. The methodology was validated through a laboratory experiment involving four concrete slabs embedded with simulated defects, including corroded rebar, hollow pipes, polystyrene sheets (to represent delamination), and hollow containers (to represent voids). Scans were performed using a commercially available device, and the resulting radargrams were analyzed based on signal reflection patterns. The proposed approach successfully identified rebar positions, spacing, and depths, as well as low-dielectric anomalies such as voids and polystyrene inclusions. Some limitations were noted in detecting non-metallic materials with weak dielectric contrast, such as hollow pipes. Overall, the findings demonstrate the reliability and adaptability of the proposed method in improving the interpretation of GPR data for structural diagnostics. The proposed methodology achieved a detection accuracy of approximately 90% across all embedded features, which demonstrates improved interpretability compared to traditional manual GPR assessments, typically ranging between 70 and 80% in similar laboratory conditions. Full article
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