TITLE:
Advances and Challenges in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Methods for Underwater Concrete Structures
AUTHORS:
Shamima Akter Shimky, Minhajul Islam Mim, Fei Yao
KEYWORDS:
Underwater Concrete Structures, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Impact-Echo, Ultrasonic Testing, Acoustic Emission, Hybrid Techniques, Structural Health Monitoring, Signal Processing, Corrosion Detection, Sensor Fusion, Machine Learning, Real-Time Monitoring
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Engineering and Technology,
Vol.13 No.4,
September
24,
2025
ABSTRACT: The underwater concrete structures are one of infrastructure facilities to secure the underwater environment safely, in which, the dam, the offshore platform, and under water bridge element are representative cases. They are all subject to extremely severe marine climatic conditions and routine condition assessment is necessary to ensure the safety and performance of the spillway over the long term. Structural health conditions of these application parts are commonly inspected based on Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods. This review introduces the progresses and challenges of four common, nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques (impact-echo, ultrasonic testing, acoustic emission, hybrid method) of underwater concrete. The basic principles, applicators, limitations, and recent technological developments for each approach are described. In this paper, we consider advances in underwater diagnostics, in particular recent advances, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for defect detection, advanced signal processing, sensor fusion and robotics inspection systems, and how these may benefit from technologies previously available in diagnostics. There are limitations such as bounding signal degradation, environmental pollution, easy installation. There is no universal application of the operation. The paper ends, with identifying the future research directions focused beam for improving real-time monitoring, the integration of AI and IoT and development of ruggedized automated underwater NDT systems. For engineers and researchers and asset managers and those within inspection and maintenance of underwater concrete structures, the review serves as an excellent reference.