A review of non-destructive methods applied in deep foundations

Abstract

In the field of civil engineering, non-destructive methods occupy an essential place at the heart of each major project or planned civil engineering work. Among the several applications of this technique, one finds the quality control of various elements constituting the structure of the work (concrete, reinforcement, steel ... etc) as well as the recognition of pathologies. Of main interest in this context, non-destructive based methods allow for quality monitoring during construction and inspection of defects during and after the works, especially in inaccessible sites (piles, deep foundations, nuclear sites). Secondly, the preventive and corrective maintenance of old infrastructures can gain in efficiency thanks to the detection of failures and accurate localisation of damaged parts which are provided by this technique. It is in this perspective that the present research project focuses on the detection of failures that occur in deep foundations by means of a non-destructive testing method. A critical analysis is adopted and various methods were explored along with their principle, advantages, limitations and fields of application.