A team of researchers from UTS visited Humes’ Blacktown production facility earlier this month to observe and video record cracks in concrete pipe undergoing load tests as part of a project intended to develop a better way of monitoring and measuring pipe cracks – and ultimately avoid unnecessary repair and replacement.
Currently authorities use CCTV technology to monitor reinforced precast concrete pipes for post installation cracking but the technology is not accurate enough to distinguish between cracks in need of repair and expected narrow cracks that can self-heal, which leads asset owners to spend millions of dollars unnecessarily repairing, replacing or relining in-service pipes that are still safe and performing to standard.
The project, still in its early stages, will develop deep learning assisted computer vision that will have far greater resolution than current CCTV detectors and collect more accurate data on crack widths. This will help asset owners make more informed and cost-effective decisions about which pipes need repairs. Researchers will also gather data on acceptable crack width limitations under diverse inside environmental conditions developing acceptable measurable crack widths for in service pipelines.
This project received grant funding from the Australian Government through SmartCrete CRC.