Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems – Biondini & Frangopol (Eds)

© 2023 The Author(s), ISBN 978-1-003-32302-0

Open Access: www.taylorfrancis.com, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

Applications of drone inspection and use of strain-hardening

cementitious composites (ECC/SHCC) in lowering carbon
footprint and lifecycle cost of bridges

D.K. Mishra, P. Ranjan & H. Sun

Raspect AI, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

J. Yu
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, PR China

P.L. Ng
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius, Lithuania

ABSTRACT: Drone inspection is becoming quite common in condition monitoring of

built infrastructure such as bridges. For the repair of defects identified from such inspection
use of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC), also known as Strain-Hardening
Cementitious Composites (SHCC), a class of advanced fibre-reinforced cement-based mater­
ials with ductile tensile properties can be effectively used as indicated in many structural
applications over the last twenty years. In particular, their use in link slabs of the bridge
decks as well as other structural elements in reinforced concrete and composite bridges is
quite noteworthy. This paper reviews several such applications in light of the emerging chal­
lenges in bridge design requiring long service life and low life cycle costs throughout oper­
ation and maintenance. It is concluded that in spite of its higher initial material cost, the use
of ECC/SHCC in bridge construction and repairs would result in lower life cycle costs,
carbon footprint and better sustainability.

1 INTRODUCTION

Transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, airports etc. are an integral part
of the modern landscape. They form the lifeline of cities until they fail to serve the purpose for
which they have been designed leading to a significant surge of social costs or even cata­
strophic accidents (National Academies of Sciences et al. (2020)). As per the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card released in 2017 (ASCE (2017)), the
U.S. has 614,387 bridges, almost four in 10 of which are 50 years or older. Out of them,
56,007 or 9.1% were structurally deficient. Many of the bridges are approaching the end of
their design life. The estimate of the investment required for bridge rehabilitation in the US
alone is at least US $123 billion.
An estimated 6.3% of the total bridge deck area belonged to structurally deficient bridges in
2016, a small improvement from 9.5% in 2007 (Figure 1a). The situation in Europe is not
much better which was tragically illustrated by the sudden collapse of the Morandi bridge in
August 2018 in Genoa, Italy. Subsequently, it was revealed that a declining investment in rou­
tine inspection, repair and maintenance was a leading cause of the failure. The fast-developing
economies of countries like India and China account for the bulk of the worldś construction
activities are also facing the challenge of fast-track building while ensuring durability, resili­
ency and sustainability, as illustrated in Figure 1b (Li (2019b)).

DOI: 10.1201/9781003323020-495

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1.1 Current challenges in bridge engineering
The challenges faced by the infrastructure sector as a whole be it transportation (land, water,
air), water (irrigation, drinking water), or power generation (thermal, nuclear, renewable etc.) -
all have many common features such as design for long service life, the minimum cost of main­
tenance, minimum carbon footprint in both construction and operation etc. (Lepech and Li
(2009)). A specific category of transportation infrastructure such as bridges has specific chal­
lenges that must be addressed. Among these, ensuring a long service life of up to and exceeding
100 years is a major challenge faced by engineers all over the world. Keoleian et al (Keoleian
et al. (2005)) discussed a life cycle modelling-based concrete bridge design approach to compare
the use of an ECC link slab to replace conventional steel expansion joint which is often a source
of major damage needing frequent repairs. The demolition, repair, and recycling of materials
and wastes from deteriorated infrastructure remain to be studied in detail. The development of
low life cycle cost, low-carbon modular design is beneficial to the reduction of infrastructure
deficiency (Kaewunruen et al. (2016)). ASCE (2017) recommended the following key actions to
address the challenges of bridge infrastructure, among others.
• Increase funding from all levels of government to continue reducing the number of struc­
turally deficient bridges, decrease the maintenance backlog, and address the large number
of bridges that have passed or are approaching the end of their design life.
• Bridge owners should consider the costs across a bridge’s entire life cycle to make smart
design decisions and prioritize maintenance and rehabilitation.

1.2 Drone inspection of bridges

Drone (also referred to as unmanned aerial system, or UAS) inspection of bridges is an increasingly
popular method being adopted by the engineering community worldwide (Shi et al. (2021); Azari
et al. (2022)). Drones are able to provide a detailed view of the bridge, allowing engineers to identify
any potential issues in the structure. Drone inspections are becoming more and more common as
they offer a cost-effective way to inspect bridges quickly and accurately (see Figure 3). Drones pro­
vide an efficient way to inspect the bridge structure, allowing the inspector to quickly identify any
potential issues. Drone inspections can provide a detailed overview of the bridge and identify any
structural problems, such as cracks, corrosion, and deterioration. Additionally, drones are able to
provide high-resolution images of the bridge, allowing for detailed analysis of the structure.
The use of drones for fracture-critical inspections is more challenging at present. Cameras and
today’s sensors still have little capability to see through dirt, debris, and corrosion which can hide
critical defects. However, using the primary payloads of high-resolution visual and thermal
imaging cameras, modern drones can identify most of the defects such as cracks, delamination,
spalling, corrosion etc. That needs immediate attention. One of the challenges of data generated
by a drone inspection is its voluminous nature which made it impossible to analyse using conven­
tional manual methods. Machine learning and AI have made it possible to automate the process­
ing of such voluminous data to identify the most common defects. An advantage of drone
inspection of is the possibility for comparison of the inspection data collected at different points
of time to estimate the change in the condition of the structure as illustrated in Figure 1b.

2 THE USE OF ECC/SHCC

Once the defects in the bridge are identified, the repair and maintenance require the selection of
the right materials and methods for the best results. Innovation in new technologies, especially
the development of materials such as fibre-reinforced composites is enabling bridges to be built
stronger, last longer, require less maintenance and have a lower carbon footprint. As already
discussed, Sensors and robots such as drones are being used in both new and old bridges for
real-time or near real-time structural health monitoring so that problems can be identified and
addressed earlier to improve public safety. To reduce the time for the construction or repair
of bridges, prefabricated elements are being increasingly used. Engineered Cementitious

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Composites (ECC) or Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC) is a class of fibre-
reinforced cement-based composites that can be designed for a range of compressive
strength while ensuring a requisite degree of tensile ductility (Li and Mishra (1996); Li (2008)).

Figure 1. Structural design and sustainability.

As shown in Figure 3, the characteristic material property of ECC is reflected by its tensile
stress-strain behaviour and cracking pattern. In contrast to the brittle nature of plain concrete
which fails with a single crack under relatively low tensile stress, and the characteristic strain-
softening behaviour of ordinary fibre-reinforced concrete, ECC continues to carry tensile stress
beyond the first crack and even exhibits tensile strain-hardening accompanied by multiple
micro-cracking phenomena. As a result, the average and maximum crack width of ECC is typ­
ically below 100 microns or less. These two unique properties of ECC, namely the high tensile
strain capacity and inherent crack width control, can be effectively deployed in a number of
structural applications to address major challenges faced by bridges, as discussed in previous
sections. Figure 4 shows the graphical representation of a brief literature review undertaken to
understand the state of progress in terms of the application of ECC/SHCC in real-life bridge
scenarios using the connected papers’ graphical representation. Table 1 gives a list of such appli­
cations taken from the textbook by Li (Li (2019a)).

Figure 2. Moving towards drone-based monitoring.

2.1 Link slabs for bridge joints

Lack of watertight bridge joints leads to water leakage, which would cause premature deterior­
ation and failure of the beam support zones, bearings, and underlying substructure elements.
This is a major source of deterioration that requires frequent repairs. The application of ECC/

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Figure 3. Typical tensile stress–strain behaviour of ECC with average crack-width data (Mishra,
D K Yu, J Das, A Leung 2018).

Table 1. Application of ECC in transport infrastructure (bridge) [Li (2019a)).

Application Problem Solved ECC property utilized Placement method

The bridge deck and Reduce frequency and Tensile ductility to accommo­ Cast-in-place or
road pavement link-slab cost of bridge deck date thermal deformation; precast
retrofits maintenance; Reduce tight crack width; Fatigue
traffic noise resistance; wear durability
Composite bridge deck Reduce the risk of fatigue Tensile ductility; fatigue Cast-in-place
failure of steel deck; resistance
Reduce cost and weight
Patch repair of bridge Reduce maintenance Tensile ductility; durability Cast-in-place
deck frequency and cost against wheel loads and
chloride environment
Rigid-frame railway Reduce steel reinforce­ High shear capacity even Precast in factory
bridge beam-column ment congestion without steel reinforcement
joint connection

Figure 4. Connected papers map showing (a) drone inspection of bridges, (b) application of ECC link
slab in bridge deck joint linked to (Lepech and Li (2009)).

SHCC link slabs in place of conventional bridge joints offers an innovative solution to the prob­
lem. Lepech and Li (Keoleian et al. (2005)) developed a Life Cycle Assessment model specific­
ally for bridge decks accounting for materials production and supply chain, construction and
maintenance processes, construction-related logistics, and end-of-life management. The model
indicated that the ECC/SHCC bridge deck system has significant advantages over conventional
joints. It has 40% less life cycle energy consumption, 50% less solid waste generation, and 38%
less raw material consumption. Based on the findings by (Keoleian et al. (2005)), construction-
related traffic congestion was a dominant factor in life cycle cost assessment. The first ever real-
life application of ECC link slab was launched at a bridge in Grove Street over the inter-state
highway I-94 under the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) (Lepech and Li
(2009)). The performance of this bridge has been monitored ever since and it has been found to
have performed exceedingly well throughout the reporting period up till 2015 (Li (2019a)).

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 Figure 5 shows a schematic of the link slab and a photograph of a similar bridge where an
ECC link slab was implemented by the Virginia Department of Transport (VDOT) recently in
2018 (Walus and Engineer (2010)). According to (Thorkildsen et al. (2020)), the US Department
of Transportation reports widespread practice of replacing conventional joints in bridge decks
with link slabs by various state departments of transportation in New York, Maryland, Virginia
and Massachusetts etc. Many of these applications including those in Virginia and Maryland
reported successful use of ECC/SHCC and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) in the
construction of link slabs. Such applications are gaining popularity all over the world not only
for joints at bridge decks (Hou et al. (2018)) but also in regular concrete road pavements
(Zhang et al. (2017, 2010)). Compared to asphalt pavements, the driving comfort of concrete
pavements is normally lower due to the existence of joints. The joints also reduce the durability
of the reinforced concrete pavement due to susceptibility to infiltration of moisture and deicing
salt etc. which in turn causes corrosion of reinforcement. Repair and maintenance cost is thus
likely to increase with the presence of joints. By using low-shrinkage engineered cementitious
composite (LSECC) strips in place of joints of conventional concrete pavement, it is possible to
localize the fine cracks into the LSECC strip and significantly enhance long-term durability and
reduce maintenance cost. This technique has been already applied to real-life projects in Japan
(Rokugo (2010)) and China (Zhang et al. (2017, 2013)).

2.2 Bridge deck repair

Potholes on highway pavement surfaces, especially on concrete bridge decks have been arising
concerns among transportation authorities and infrastructure/maintenance engineers. Asphalt
pavements are notorious for their susceptibility to moisture ingress and the formation of pot­
holes that require frequent repair. Concrete, on the other hand, is a longer-lasting alternative.
However, it is also prone to cracking, delamination, and spalling and needs constant monitor­
ing and repair. Bridge decks and pavements made of steel-reinforced concrete is additionally
prone to corrosion-induced cracking and delamination. Dynamic loading from vehicular traf­
fic causing fatigue is another major accelerating factor of such damage. Sahmaran and Li
(Sahmaran et al. (2008)) showed that the high tensile ductility of ECC/SHCC can yield higher
resistance to corrosion-induced spalling. It was also found that after 100k cycles of fatigue
loading, the crack width in the reference concrete link slab specimen increased from 50
mμm to greater than 0.6 mm, while the crack width in the ECC link slab remained close to 50
mμm (Li (2008); Lepech and Li (2006a)) showed the superior performance of High Early
Strength ECC (HES-ECC) as an overlay patch repair material under fatigue loading. Actu­
ally, one of the early applications of ECC was in patch repair of concrete pavements in which
a high early strength ECC was deployed (Lepech and Li (2006b)). An ECC patch repair was
carried out at the bridge deck of Curtis Road over highway M-14 in southern Michigan state
in October 2002 in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
In comparison with a side-by-side patch repaired with a conventional pre-packed commercial
patching material, ECC performed far better. While in two years the conventional repair
material had heavily deteriorated and had to be re-done, the ECC patch demonstrated desir­
able performance without much cracking and damage until the year 2007 when the entire
bridge deck was re-laid. Another example of a real-life application of ECC for patch repair
was carried out in November 2006. A HES-ECC patch repair was implemented at Ellsworth
Road Bridge over highway US-23 (S07 of 81074) in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Lepech and Li
(2006b)) with MDOT. The HES-ECC was a self-compacting mix and it was compared with
the performance of a side-by-side patch done with Thoroc 10-60 (a commercial patch repair
material). In the subsequent 2 to 3 years, the performance of ECC as a durable repair material
was proven satisfactory in one of the harshest environments comprising effects of restrained
shrinkage, freeze-thaw cycles, deicing salts, temperature fluctuations etc., in addition to heavy
traffic loads. The damage in the ECC patch was minimal with maximum crack width remain­
ing less than 100 μm in the ECC, as opposed to close to 2 mm in the control.

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Figure 5. (a) Schematic of a typical full-depth link slab (Thorkildsen et al. (2020)) (b) Photograph of the
ECC link slab on I-64 over Dunlap creek by VDOT (Walus and Engineer (2010)) (c) Photograph of the
first patch repair using ECC on a bridge deck of Curtis Road in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2002 (Li (2014)).

Figure 6. 3-D model and rigid structure.

2.3 Composite bridge deck

ECC/SHCC can be a suitable material for composite construction as shown by (Zhang et al. (2019))
where they have also taken into account the self-healing ability of ECC/SHCC which enhances its
durability characteristics. A composite bridge deck taking advantage of the durability of ECC owing
to its tight crack-control ability was designed and built in 2004 in Japan. The Mihara bridge in Hok­
kaido was a 962 m long cable-stayed bridge with a middle span of 340 m and a full deck area of
20,000 m2. It had a 38 mm thick ECC top layer to protect the steel deck underneath from corrosion.
The bridge was opened to traffic in 2005 and it had a designed service life of 100 years. It is expected
that the savings from reduced maintenance and repair costs would be substantial for the structure
over its service life. Figure 6a shows a 3-D model of the bridge.

2.4 Strengthening bridge structure

ECC/SHCC has been proven to be a suitable material for applications where the structure is
required to resist dynamic loads such as in an earthquake. Because of the high energy absorption
capacity of ECC/SHCC stemming from its unique energy-dissipating failure mode, many
researchers have used ECC/SHCC to form critical joints in structures subject to cyclic loading. It
was concluded that ECC/SHCC outperforms conventional concrete in strengthening bridge struc­
tures (Li and Mishra (1996)). In a review paper, (Shang et al. (2019)) have cited a large number of
studies that showed the advantages of ECC/SHCC as a repair material for structural strengthen­
ing over the conventional approach which uses fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) and steel plates.

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FRP is a brittle material and is prone to debonding from the substrate concrete, whereas steel
plates are susceptible to corrosion. In a comprehensive experimental study, (Zhang et al. (2015))
showed the advantage of using ECC in mitigating the reinforcement congestion problem in beam-
column joints designed as per the earthquake-resistant code requirements in Japan. At shear span
to depth ratio a/d = 2.8, the shear capacity of the beams with and without stirrups increased by
20.6% and 107.6% respectively when using ECC in lieu of conventional concrete.

2.5 Other potential applications and scope for future research

Among other applications of ECC/SHCC that are in the domain of transportation in general are
tunnel lining, repair of viaducts, structural strengthening of embankments and ports using FRP-
reinforced or fabric-reinforced ECC/SHCC etc. Given the micromechanical design basis of ECC/
SHCC, it can be tailored for individual situations by identifying the structural performance
requirements and establishing a link with material properties. It is expected that in forthcoming
years with the accumulation of more research data and field performance information, applica­
tions of ECC/SHCC combined with robotic inspection in real-life structures will get a big boost.

3 CONCLUSIONS

Robotic and drone inspection of bridge structures followed by the application of Engineered
Cementitious Composites (ECC) or Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC) in
repairs and other use in bridge engineering have been illustrated by citing real-life examples.
This study indicates that advanced fibre-reinforced cement composites such as ECC/SHCC
with their high tensile ductility and intrinsic tight crack width control can be utilized in both
new and old bridges effectively. Such application can enhance structural safety and resilience
while making concrete bridges more durable and thereby reducing their life cycle cost. Specif­
ically, the following conclusions can be drawn:
• Robotic inspection of structures such as bridges using unmanned aerial vehicles commonly
known as drones is becoming increasingly popular.
• identifying major and critical defects that need urgent attention is easier, less costly and
safer using such methods.
• ECC/SHCC is an excellent material choice for long-lasting and durable repair of concrete
pavements including bridge decks.
• Use of ECC/SHCC link slabs in place of conventional joints at bridge decks, as well as con­
crete pavements, can save maintenance costs, reduce traffic disruption and increase service life.
• Using ECC/SHCC in critical structural elements and joints can enhance the ductile per­
formance of bridges under dynamic loads such as heavy traffic and earthquakes.
• Further accumulation of laboratory research and field performance data is beneficial to
promote more ECC/SHCC applications in real-life structures.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Prof. Dhanada K. Mishra would like to thank KMBB College of Engineering and Technology
for permitting his sabbatical at HKUST from September 2017 to January 2021. Dr. P.L. Ng
would like to acknowledge the support from the European Regional Development Fund (Pro­
ject no. 01.2.2-LMT-K-718-03-0010) under a grant agreement with the Research Council of
Lithuania (LMTLT).

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