11/29/2018 post tension tendon

Post Tension Tendon -How to inspect a post tension tendon

A post tensioned tendon is a bundle of steel strands encased in grouted concrete and wrapped in a protec ve sheathing and
then tensioned. Post tensioning is a tehnique for reinforcing concrete. According to Concretenetwork “Post tensioning is a
technique for reinforcing concrete. Post-tensioning tendons, which are prestressing steel cables inside plastic
ducts or sleeves, are positioned in the forms before the concrete is placed. Afterwards, once the concrete has
gained strength but before the service loads are applied, the cables are pulled tight, or tensioned, and anchored
against the outer edges of the concrete.” Without post tension tendons large slabs of concrete would crack and
collapse under load. Post tensioned tendons are used in bridge construction, building construction, box girder
roadways, tennis courts, dams and other large concrete structures.
Once in place grouted post tension tendons are succep ble to corrosion and deteriora on.
Many of these external post tension tendons that are in our bridges are exposed to chloride, air,
salt water and other elements that can aid in their corrosion. Regular inspec ons are impera ve
to keeping the structure and the traveling public safe. Up ll now almost all post tension
tendon inspec ons con nue to be manual and subjec ve in nature with very li le
quan ta ve data. Infrastructure Preserva on Corpora on’s has developed TendonScan®. TendonScan® is a service that is
composed of two services. One that u lizes advanced magne c flux leakage nondestruc ve tes ng technology and one
that u lizes magne c flux leakage combined with robo cs and interpreta on so ware to peer through an external post
tension tendon and provide the asset manager with an advanced condi on assessment report to help budget for
maintenance.
According to FHWA The MFL method can be used to detect the location and extent of corrosion in post-tensioned and precast
prestressed strands in concrete girders, and breakage of wires and strands in post-tensioning tendons and prestressing strands.
MFL is also commonly used to test the cables of suspension or cable stayed bridges. MFL units can be clamped onto a cable as
part of a climbing module or rolled across a surface.

Where most mfl units cannot provide proper data for post tension tendons. IPC’s TendonScan® was specifically callibrated with
software written for the inspection of external post tension tendons.

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11/29/2018 post tension tendon
Potable, light weight, wireless and accurate. IPC’s TendonScan® will locate loss of metallic area inside an external post tension
tendon. Perfectly tuned to external post tension tendons, the software shows location and percentage of loss of metallic area.

The unit has a speed indicator, headlamps for dark box girders and an indicator when an issue is present bridge inspection
services. Wireless, Portable and Accurate.
According to The Subcommittee Magnetic Processes for Pre-stressing Steel Breakage Detection of the Technical
Committee for NDT in Construction of the German Society for Non-Destructive Testing deals with the further
development and dissemination of the procedure.

“Statements about the condition of prestressed steel reinforcements are not only important for ensuring the stability
and usability of structures under known load levels but also for the conversion and renovation of structures. With the
prestressing steel breakage detection based on MFL technique it is possible to make nondestructive test statements.
It is essential to coordinate with the client regarding the possibilities and limits of the respective examination task”

Without designing a system and conducting the testing for a specific component the nondestructive testing
technology by itself will not give you the results required to properly assess the structural item in question. Although
the technology by itself is know to work. Every structure being inspected is constructed differently. Even the grout
being used today changes from batch to batch and manufacturer to manufacturer. Without conducting the R&D and
properly configuring software to be specific to that component mfl would just not be a useful inspection tool.
A research article written by Seunghee Park and Changgill Lee offers the Principals of Magnetic Flux
Leakage to help explain.

Principle of Magnetic Flux Leakage

A steel portion that is magnetized contains a magnetic field both in and around itself, and additionally
any place where a magnetic line – of force- exits or enters the specimen or what is called a pole. If you
take a magnet that is cracked, but not broken completely in two, forms a north pole and a south pole at
each edge of the crack, as shown in Figure 2. The field or magnetic field exits in the north pole and
reenters in the south pole. The magnetic field will spread out when it comes accross the small air gap
that is created by the crack, because the air which cannot support as much magnetic field per the unit
volume as the magnet can. When the field spreads out across the air, it begins to leak out and creates
what is called a flux leakage field.

Figure 2: Principle of magnetic flux leakage.

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11/29/2018 post tension tendon

2.2. Magnetic Flux Leakage-Based Local Fault Damage Detection Technique

If you take a strong permanent magnet or an electromagnet to establish a magnetic flux in the material
to be inspected. If there is no defect, the flux in the output from the metal remains uniform. In contrast,
when there is damage, due to broken wire or wear. The flux leaks out of the metal near the defect.
The sensors that can detect this flux leakage are placed between the two poles of the magnet and it is
there that they generate a signal that is proportional to the magnetic flux leakage.
Infrastructure Preservation Corporation programmed through extensive R&D the software required to
interpret the loss of metallic area in real time while inspecting the tendon.

Linked By:

https://www.infrastructurepc.com/a-post-tension-primer/

https://www.infrastructurepc.com/

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