Synthesized evaluation of reinforced concrete bridge defects, their non-destructive inspection and analysis methods : a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of the past three decades

Abstract

Defects are essential indicators to gauge the structural integrity and safety of reinforced concrete bridges. Non-destructive inspection has been pervasively explored over the last three decades to localize and characterize surface and subsurface anomalies in reinforced concrete bridges. In addition, different fuzzy set theory-based, computer vision and artificial intelligence algorithms were leveraged to analyze the data garnered from non-destructive evaluation techniques. In light of the foregoing, this research paper presents a mixed review method that encompasses both bibliometric and systematic analyses of the state-of-the-art work pertinent to the assessment of reinforced concrete bridge defects using non-destructive techniques (CBD_NDT). In this context, this study reviews the literature of journal articles and book chapters indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases from 1991 to the end of September 2022. To this end, 505 core peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters are compiled for evaluation after conducting forward and backward snowballing alongside removing irrelevant papers. This research study then exploits both VOSVIEWER and Bibiometrix R Package for the purpose of network visualization and scientometric mapping of the appended research studies. Thereafter, this paper carries out a multifaceted systematic review analysis of the identified literature covering tackled bridge defects, used non-destructive techniques, data processing methods, public datasets, key findings and future research directions. The present study is expected to assist practitioners and policymakers to conceive and synthesize existing research and development bodies, and future trends in the domain of the assessment of bridge defects using non-destructive techniques. It can also aid in raising awareness of the importance of defect management in bridge maintenance systems.