A grant has been awarded to Dr. Primus V. Mtenga and colleagues at Florida A&M University - Florida State University College of Engineering (FAMU-FSU CoE) to acquire an EchoTherm System for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) in infrastructure condition assessment and other applications. Infrastructure deficiencies such as cracking in concrete structures, corrosion in steel structures, production anomalies in materials have made condition assessment using NDE techniques a very important area of research and development . These NDE techniques include visual techniques, ultrasonic based techniques, x-ray techniques, and now increasingly thermographic techniques. Both ultrasonic and x-ray techniques require the attachment of probes or film on the component or structure to be evaluated. The attachment of devices to the location to be inspected is time consuming and may cause some inconveniences such as closure of a facility for extended periods. On the other hand, Infrared thermography (IRT) techniques have all the characteristics of providing an efficient and economical method for NDE. These characteristics include the ability of measuring surface temperature at a distance and the ability to cover a large area at a time. These characteristics make the technique very useful in situations such as the condition assessment of bridges where minimum inconvenience to the traveling public is desirable. The EchoTherm System to be acquired will complement an existing IRT capability at FAMU-FSU CoE. The EchoTherm system allows controlled heat pulse application, thus providing the ability to monitor heat decay precisely, which in turn allows the determination sizes of anomalies and their location with depth. The availability of the system will enhance the productivity of the existing IRT facility and increase FAMU-FSU CoE competitiveness in the area of infrastructure condition assessment. With anticipated funding from Florida Department of Transportation, studies on quality control of Fiber Reinforced Polymer retrofit will be the maiden project for the requested equipment. The Florida A&M Univerisity, a historically Black University, is a leading producer of minority and female engineering graduates. The requested Echo-Therm System, augmented by the existing IR Camera, will provide NDE exposure to the existing diverse body of undergraduate and graduate students, thus bringing underrepresented groups to the condition assessment field.
