INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM
AUTOMATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTANANCE
In recent years, increasing limitations have been placed on bridge maintenance projects due to a growing public environmental awareness. The direct result of such limitations is a sizable increase in the cost and duration of even the simplest maintenance tasks. This prompted an accelerated search for various alternatives to the full class A containment method currently in use during lead abatement projects. The Thermal Spray Laboratory of SUNY Stony Brook in conjunction with US Army Corps of Engineers CERL, has designed an Automated Thermal Spray System (ATSS) that incorporates a vacuum blasting machine for the purpose of substrate cleaning and paint removal. The advantage of such a system is that the paint removal process is greatly simplified and containment of the hazardous paint products is complete. The ATSS also enables maintenance crews to operate the system from the relative safety of the ground via the control console.
The integration of automation into infrastructure rehabilitation projects was investigated using a three axis linear motion platform as a positioning system for a vacuum blasting unit, a visual inspection camera and a two-wire electric arc thermal spray gun. The maintenance cycle of a steel structure was divided into three independent tasks, each performed by the tools described above. The linear motion system performed repetitive motion sequences, allowing the maintenance tools to move along a predetermined path and clean, inspect and coat the substrate, thus performing a complete maintenance cycle.
The economic viability of this automated system was evaluated by performing a field test that included removing existing layers of rust, lead-based paint and dirt from a bridge section, followed by an inspection of the cleaning process and a thermal sprayed coating of zinc as a protective top coat. The field test was carried out on an overpass near Riverhead New York, with the participation of the New York State Department of Transportation and the Regional Bridge Maintenance division.
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last updated 03/15/96 by Dr. J. Karthikeyan