Quantitative damage assessment of bridge suspenders based on ultrasonic guided wave non-destructive testing and Kriging surrogate model

Suspender rods in arch bridges face detection challenges due to degradation, threatening safety. This study proposes a novel non-destructive testing method using ultrasonic waves and the Kriging model. It quickly locates damage and models the suspender’s response to controlled damage, linking damage parameters to output results. The integration of qualitative analysis through ultrasonic guided waves and quantitative analysis through Kriging surrogate modelling addresses the limitations encountered in ultrasonic guided wave testing of bridge suspenders in terms of technology, environment, and data processing. The Kriging surrogate model excels in quantitative analysis due to its high-precision interpolation, error estimation, and nonlinear approximation capabilities. The complementary strengths of ultrasonic guided waves and the Kriging surrogate model enable an effective non-destructive testing and evaluation of suspenders. Remarkably, the computational results reveal that demonstrating the Kriging surrogate model’s remarkable capacity to forecast the extent of bridge suspender damage accurately. Ultrasonic guided wave testing can be employed to locate damage positions accurately. A new surrogate model can then be developed to correct the finite element model (FEM), and this updated FEM can be utilised to analyse and predict the extent of damage to the suspenders.