A sensor investigation for a concrete hydro‐erosion robot Available to Purchase

Concrete decay has become a major ongoing problem for the developed world, affecting all manner of structures. The purpose of the reported research is thus to advance the prospects for the realisation of high capacity, robotic repair systems through sensor technology. Here, the particular target is the removal of defective concrete by the hydro‐erosion method. The main advantages of the method are that it is kind to the structure while having the potential to produce high definition excavations. Sensing has been investigated for both prediction of the hydro‐erosion task and real‐time process feedback. The latter is complicated by the extremely destructive hydro‐erosion environment, which precludes the use of conventional sensing probes. For this, vibration and process noise have been investigated to determine if diagnostic characteristics are detectable. To support the task, a predictive basis has been developed using non‐destructive testing (NDT) sensors within a data fusion model. Covermeter, rebound hammer, impact echo and surface dampness NDT data are fed into this. Progress is reported on this part of the ongoing research.