Construction of structural integrity assessment method for the guardrail post with the corrosion at the basement

Abstract

Chloride due to de-icing salt induced the corrosion of the guardrail post on the highway along the seashore of Hokuriku district. This study proposed the non-destructive method to estimate the structural integrity using the vibration mode obtained by the vibration test. Test guardrail posts which modeled the corrosion were produced. The vibration characteristics of those posts due to the impact and the resonance examination were observed. Also the stiffness and load carrying performance of those posts were investigated using FEM analysis. As the results of the examination and analysis, this study targeted the high-order vibration mode shapes to estimate the corrosion damage of the guardrail post at the basement. Moreover, the structural integrity of those posts was estimated using the relation of the MAC (Modal Assurance Criterion) and the ratio of the bending stiffness.