JP2007132915A - Method and system for inspecting building - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an efficient method and system for inspecting a building capable of preventing cracks and separation on a surface from being missed. <P>SOLUTION: The building is irradiated with generated electromagnetic waves, to obtain a transmission or reflection image thereof, by using electromagnetic wave generators, having 10 GHz-10 THz of oscillation frequency constituted of a terahertz generator, and using a combination of a plurality of oscillating elements different in oscillation frequencies, or using a plurality of detectors, and defect distributions on the surface and in an inside of the building are imaged thereby. The electromagnetic wave generator of high oscillation frequency from among the plurality of electromagnetic wave generators is used effectively for observing the vicinity on the building surface at high resolution. The electromagnetic wave generator of low oscillation frequency, however, is used effectively for observing the inside of the building, because electromagnetic waves reaches to the inside of the building. The plurality of frequencies of electromagnetic waves are combined to image/diagnose the separations, the cracks, foreign matter contamination situations in the vicinity of the surface and internal structure of the concrete building, and execution situation for a reinforcement thereof. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is characterized by identifying the cracks, structural defects, construction status of reinforcing bars, and presence / absence of foreign matter contamination by irradiating a building with electromagnetic waves and obtaining a reflection image thereof, and imaging its distribution. The present invention relates to a building inspection method and an inspection system.

Concrete buildings are premised on semi-permanent use, and there is a feature that breakage and damage are less likely to occur depending on the structure design method and construction method and material selection. On the other hand, the problem is that deformation and damage tend to progress little by little over a long time, and it is difficult to predict the progress of deformation and determine the degree of influence on normal use. In addition, there are many large and complex-shaped buildings, and visual inspection from a remote location is difficult, and an aerial platform and an aerial work vehicle are required at a short distance. In addition, since inspection of tunnels and the like requires inspection of invisible places such as the inside of the lining concrete, destructive inspection by a boring core is necessary, and there is a drawback that it takes a lot of time. In wooden houses, similar methods have been used to inspect external wall materials due to earthquakes and deterioration over time.
In nondestructive inspection, the method of investigating the state of peeling of concrete and outer walls by making a sound from a close distance is mainly used, and the inspection of cracks and peeling of the concrete surface is experimentally performed by an electrophotographic method using an infrared camera or laser scanning. Has been done. As for the inspection of defects inside the concrete, hammering sound inspection is mainly used, and radar technology using electromagnetic waves of 100 MHz to 3 GHz is experimentally used.

  The inspection of buildings is mainly performed by hammering sound, which is an inefficient inspection work with a large work and a heavy physical burden on the operator. On the other hand, the electrophotographic method of the wall surface of a concrete building using an infrared camera or laser scanning can only obtain information on the surface, and there is a risk of overlooking the surface cracking or peeling due to coating, deposits or surface coating of deposits. It was.

  In order to solve the above problem, in the present invention, an electromagnetic wave generation source having an oscillation frequency of 10 GHz to 10 THz constituted by a terahertz generator is used, a plurality of oscillation elements having different oscillation frequencies are combined, or a plurality of detectors are provided. By using the generated electromagnetic wave on the building and obtaining a transmission or reflection image thereof, imaging of the surface and internal defect distribution of the building is enabled. Of the plurality of terahertz generators in the previous period, in the high oscillation frequency band, it is effective for observing defects and foreign matter near the surface of the building with high resolution. On the other hand, among the plurality of terahertz generators in the previous period, electromagnetic waves are likely to penetrate to the deep part of the building at a generally low oscillation frequency band, so that it is effective for observation of the distribution of defects and contaminants inside the building. By combining electromagnetic waves of these multiple frequencies, imaging near the surface of the building and the internal structure with unprecedented accuracy, such as peeling, cracking, foreign matter contamination, rebar construction status, and the presence or absence of hollow layers・ Diagnosis is possible.

  The building inspection method and inspection system of the present invention uses an electromagnetic wave generation source in the range of 10 GHz to 10 THz constituted by a terahertz generator, selects an electromagnetic wave generation source having two different oscillation wavelengths, and transmits the medium. By selecting electromagnetic waves with easy frequency and controlling the penetration depth of electromagnetic waves into the building material, it is possible to obtain image information that projects the structure from the surface of the building to the inside. It is possible to non-destructively identify the structural defect distribution existing in the tunnel, which is effective for safety management regarding concrete peeling in tunnels and buildings, building completion inspections, and building inspections at the site such as during repairs. Furthermore, by combining one oscillation source and a plurality of receivers, the position of the defect or foreign matter that causes reflection or transmission from the phase shift of the reflected or transmitted electromagnetic wave, and the defect or foreign matter from the amplitude of the received electromagnetic wave. It is possible to obtain the attenuation amount due to the above and to image the internal defect distribution three-dimensionally.

A resonator structure of a diode oscillation element used in an imaging system according to the present invention is shown in FIG. The resonator is formed in a metallic resonator basic structure 1 by a stem 2, a sliding short 3, a bias pin 4, a rectangular waveguide 5, a horn antenna 6, a quartz standoff 7, a diode element 8, and a gold ribbon 9. The bottom surface side of the quartz standoff 7 and the diode element 8 are pressure-bonded onto the stem 2, and the respective upper surface sides are connected by a gold ribbon 9. The bias pin 4 has a λ / 4 choke structure, is placed in contact with the standoff 7, and supplies a necessary DC bias to the diode element 8. A resonator is formed in the vicinity of the contact point between the bias pin 4 and the quartz standoff 7 and the space length surrounded by the sliding short 3, and the electromagnetic wave stored in the resonator is output from the horn antenna 6 through the rectangular waveguide 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the element structure of the tannet diode is an n ⁺ GaAs substrate crystal 81 with a low-concentration electron density GaASn ⁻ layer 82, a high-concentration electron density GaAsn ⁺ layer 83, and a high-concentration hole density. The GaAsp ⁺ layer 84 is formed by epitaxial growth. After being epitaxially grown by processing thin substrate 81 to about 10 to 50 [mu] m, the p ⁺ layer 84 side are bonded in contact with the stem 2, it is installed in the resonator structure.

  An electromagnetic wave generator that continuously oscillates the fundamental wave at room temperature can be produced in the range of 10 to 400 GHz by the diode oscillation element. For example, in the waveguide resonator structure based on WR12 (3.099 mm × 1.549 mm), the oscillation frequency range is 60 to 90 GHz, and the DC bias value applied to the diode is controlled to 10 from the center frequency. A frequency control of about 20% is possible. The tannet diodes prototyped so far have an output of 20 dBm (100 mW) at 50 GHz, an output of 17 dBm (50 mW) at 70 Hz, and an output of 10 dBm (10 mW) at 220 GHz. In this manner, an arbitrary tannet diode that oscillates in the range of 10 to 300 GHz can be manufactured by selecting a suitable waveguide size and resonator structure, and further a suitable diode structure.

FIG. 3 shows the result of measuring the transmitted electromagnetic wave intensity with respect to the thickness of the dried plate concrete. The used electromagnetic waves are 50, 70, and 220 GHz, and a Schottky barrier diode detector (SBD) is used as a detector. In the figure, the transmittance is expressed as I _o / I _t when the concrete transmission strength of the thickness t is I _t with _respect to the output I _o of the diode oscillation element. When 50 GHz is used as the frequency of electromagnetic waves, it is possible to measure the intensity of electromagnetic waves that pass through concrete having a thickness of about 200 mm, and an image of concrete having a thickness of 100 mm or more can be obtained at 70 GHz. Moreover, the permeability with respect to the concrete of about 50 mm thickness is confirmed with the electromagnetic wave of 220 GHz. It is known that the permeability at each frequency depends on the moisture content of the concrete, and the moisture content in the concrete can be monitored. In addition, since the image spatial resolution in reflection imaging is almost at the wavelength level, high resolution is obtained at high frequencies, and the resolution is about 1.3 mm at 220 GHz and the resolution is about 6 mm at 50 GHz. A resolution of 6 mm is sufficient for observing the installation situation of reinforcing bars in concrete.

  As described above, it is possible to realize a small light source that generates a desired frequency by using a tannet diode, and by selecting the frequency, it is possible to select the permeability and image spatial resolution in concrete.

    FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram relating to the structure of a reflection intensity measurement probe using an oscillation element. An electromagnetic wave having a predetermined frequency generated from the oscillation element 10 is radiated to free space through a horn antenna attached to the element, and is focused or converted into a parallel beam by a lens 11 installed near the exit of the oscillation element 10. And is released to the outside. The electromagnetic wave returned by reflection from the outside is reflected by the beam splitter 12, and after the light is collected by the lens 11, its intensity is detected by the detector 13. The oscillation element 10, the lens 11, the beam splitter 12, and the detector 13 are fixed to and integrated with the support housing 14. The integrated probe structure was 15.

  A reflection imaging system using a plurality of the probes is shown in FIG. A plurality of probes 15 and 16 having diode oscillation elements of different frequencies are used, and these are scanned in the x and y directions by the same drive mechanism 17, and the depth of focus direction is adjusted by the drive mechanism 18. The depths of focus of the probes 15 and 16 are independently controlled by drive mechanisms 18 installed individually. The electromagnetic waves emitted from the probes 15 and 16 are irradiated with a minute beam diameter inside and near the surface of the object to be measured 19. The beam diameter can be made as small as the inner diameter of the waveguides of the oscillation elements 15 and 16, and is approximately the wavelength size. 21 in the DUT 20 is an internal structural defect, 22 is a schematic representation of a foreign object, and structurally necessary objects such as reinforcing bars and bolts also correspond to this. Reference numeral 23 denotes a crack, and schematically shows a state in which a surface crack (solid line) is connected to an internal crack (dotted line). The reflected electromagnetic wave intensity at each part of the DUT 20 is returned into the probes 15 and 16, and the reflected intensity at each frequency is detected by a detector built in the probe. In the reflection imaging of the object 20 to be measured, the reflection signal intensity and the position information from the driving device are processed by the signal processing unit 19 and imaged.

  With respect to the frequency of the oscillation element incorporated in the probes 15 and 16 in the previous period, the resonator has a waveguide size standard of WR-05, WR-04, and WR-03 as a high frequency, and oscillates in the range of 140 to 325 GHz. The frequency was selectable, and this electromagnetic wave was effective in observing the internal structure near the building surface with high resolution. On the other hand, among the plurality of oscillating elements in the previous period, by setting the waveguide size standard of the vibrator to WR-28, WR-19, WR-12, and WR-08 as a low frequency, the range of 20-140 GHz is achieved. Since electromagnetic waves can reach the inside of the concrete wall, it was effective for observation inside the building. By combining electromagnetic waves of these multiple frequencies, imaging near the surface of the building and the internal structure, peeling, cracking, foreign matter contamination status, rebar construction status, and the presence or absence of a hollow layer with unprecedented accuracy・ Diagnosis is possible.

  When the frequency of the oscillating elements used in the probes 15 and 16 is the same, there is a feature that the number of pixels can be doubled in the same scanning as compared with the case where one probe is used. Further, by increasing the number of probes Further, the number of pixels can be further increased, or high-speed scanning with the same number of pixels can be performed.

  In this method, if an airmail parcel or baggage is applied as the object to be measured 20, as a reflection image technique that replaces the conventional X-ray inspection, not only metal detection but also imaging of substances having different reflectivities is possible. In addition, explosives and specific substances can be inspected, which enables a wide range of applications related to crisis management.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which probes 15 and 16 are used for reflection imaging of a cylindrical concrete building. The probes 15 and 16 are integrally scanned by the normal direction (r) drive mechanism 24, the rotation direction (θ) drive mechanism 25, and the length direction (Z) drive mechanism 26, and reflected from each part. Get an image. A normal direction (r) drive mechanism 24 is provided for each of the probes 15 and 16, and the depth of focus direction can be controlled independently. The object to be measured does not have to be an accurate cylindrical shape, and a reflection image can be acquired from the outside surrounding the object even with respect to a cylinder, a square pillar, or a concrete structure on a pipe.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment for the purpose of performing reflection imaging from the inside of a cylindrical building. Probes 15 and 16 are scanned r-θ-Z by a normal direction (r) drive mechanism 28, a rotation direction (θ) drive mechanism 29, and a length direction (Z) drive mechanism 30 to perform reflection imaging from the wall surface. Is called. A normal direction (r) drive mechanism 28 is provided for each of the probes 15 and 16, and the depth of focus direction can be independently controlled. The object to be measured does not need to have an accurate cylindrical shape. For example, the internal cracks on the concrete wall in the tunnel, internal structural defects on the wall surface of the structure on the pipe, and foreign matter contamination can be obtained from inside the object. Is possible.

  In the diode oscillation element shown in the second embodiment, a Gunn diode, an input diode, and a tannet diode are mainly used. However, the present invention can use other elements as a terahertz light source. For example, elements such as quantum cascade lasers, p-type germanium lasers, resonant tunneling diodes, electron tubes such as backward oscillators, oscillators using high-frequency transistors, free electron lasers, terahertz generation using terahertz time domain spectroscopy, etc. may be used. it can. In addition, a terahertz parametric oscillator and a terahertz difference frequency generator using a semiconductor crystal such as GaP can be used effectively. Especially, when using the GaP terahertz wave generation method, it is 0.15 to 7 THz, which is unparalleled wide range. Generation of a terahertz electromagnetic wave having a variable wavelength and a high output is realized in (for example, T. Tanabe, K. Suto, J. Nishizawa, T. Kimura, K. Saito, Journal of Applied Physics 93, 4610 (2003)). ) It has the feature that any frequency of terahertz electromagnetic wave can be selected.

  In the GaP terahertz wave generation method, a YAG laser having a wavelength of 1.064 μm is used as the first pump light, and an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) equipped with an injection seeding device is used as the second pump light source, that is, the wavelength tunable light source. Such OPO can be prevented from wavelength degeneration by being excited by the third harmonic of the YAG laser, that is, light having a wavelength of 355 nm, and the line width of the OPO can be narrowed by the effect of injection seeding. For this reason, the line width of the terahertz electromagnetic wave generated as the difference frequency is similarly reduced. As a second method, a Cr: FORSTERITE (Cr-added olivine) laser can be used as pump light. Since this laser uses the Cr level, the line width is extremely narrow compared to OPO without injection seeding. The Cr: FORSTERITE laser is excited by using a YAG laser having a wavelength of 1.064 μm, but the third harmonic is not used unlike the above-mentioned OPO, so that the efficiency is high. The wavelength tunable range of the Cr: FORSTERITE laser is the range from 1.15 μm to 1.35 μm, two Cr: FORSTERITE lasers are used as pump light sources, one is a fixed wavelength, and the other is used as a wavelength tunable pump light source, Difference frequency can be generated without injection seeding.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a building inspection method and inspection system in which one oscillation source and a plurality of receivers are combined. An electromagnetic wave having a predetermined frequency generated from the oscillating element 10 is radiated to free space through a horn antenna attached to the element, is focused at a long focal point or is converted into a parallel beam by a lens 11 installed near the exit of the oscillating element 10, and is emitted to the outside. Then, the object to be measured 20 is irradiated. The electromagnetic wave returned from the object to be measured 20 by reflection is condensed by the lens 11 and then the phase and intensity are detected by a plurality of detectors 13. The oscillation element 10, the lens 11, and the detector 13 are fixed to and integrated with the support housing 14 and scanned. By using this system, it is possible to accurately detect the position of a defect or foreign matter that causes reflection or transmission from the phase shift of the electromagnetic wave that is reflected or transmitted. Further, since the attenuation amount of the electromagnetic wave due to the defect or foreign substance existing in the object to be measured can be obtained from the amplitude of the received electromagnetic wave, the defect or foreign object existing in the object to be measured is detected by scanning the support housing 14. It can be imaged dimensionally.

  As described above, by applying the imaging apparatus and method of the present application, it is possible to obtain a reflection image that projects the internal structure of a concrete building that cannot be seen from the surface with the naked eye. The internal structure can be observed even on a building wall having a non-planar shape such as a tunnel inner wall, which is effective as a new means of safety inspection and periodic inspection. In addition to buildings, internal inspection by unopening the package is possible, so it can be applied to inspection of airmail parcels and baggage, and is also an important method for crisis management.

  It is the schematic of the resonator structure of a diode oscillation element.   It is the element structure schematic of a tannet diode.   It is a transmission characteristic with respect to the thickness of the plate concrete of 50, 70, and 220 GHz electromagnetic waves using a diode oscillation element.   This is a structure of a reflection intensity measurement probe in which an oscillation element, a lens, a beam splitter, and a detector are integrated.   It is explanatory drawing which shows the imaging system and imaging method using two or more reflection measurement probes which incorporated the oscillation element.   It is explanatory drawing which shows the example applied to reflection imaging from the cylindrical building exterior.   It is explanatory drawing which shows the example applied to reflection imaging from the inside of a hollow cylindrical building.   It is explanatory drawing of the inspection method and inspection system of the building which combined one oscillation source and the some receiver.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... resonator base structure 2 ... stem 3 ... Sliding Short 4 ... bias pin 5 ... rectangular waveguide 6 ... horn antenna 7 ... quartz standoff 8 ... diode element 9 ... gold ribbon 81 ^... n + GaAs substrate crystal 82 ... GaAs n ^- Layer 83 ... GaAsn ⁺ layer 84 ... GaAsp ⁺ layer 10 ... oscillation element 11 ... lens 12 ... beam splitter 13 ... detector 14 ... support housing 15 ... probe A
16 ... Probe B
17 ... x-y direction drive mechanism 18 ... z direction drive mechanism 19 ... signal processing unit 20 ... measurement object 21 ... internal structural defect 22 ... foreign matter 23 ... cracks 24, 28 ... normal direction (r) drive mechanisms 25, 29 ... Rotational direction (θ) drive mechanism 26, 30 ... Longitudinal direction (Z) drive mechanism 27 ... Cylindrical structure 31 ... Hollow cylindrical structure

Claims (7)

  An inspection system comprising an electromagnetic wave generation source in the range of 10 GHz-10 THz constituted by a terahertz generator and comprising at least the electromagnetic wave generation means, the light collection means, and the detection means, wherein the previous generation means, the light collection means , And a probe structure in which the detection means are integrated, and by simultaneously scanning the probe, the reflection or transmission of electromagnetic waves from the building is measured, the building is cracked, structural defects, rebar construction status, and contamination Building inspection method and inspection system capable of identifying etc.   The building inspection method and inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection system includes at least two probe structures, and the probes are configured by terahertz generators having different oscillation frequencies.   In the inspection system, at least two detection means are provided for one electromagnetic wave generation means, and the time point of reflection or transmission is obtained from the phase shift of the reflected or transmitted electromagnetic wave, and the attenuation is obtained from the amplitude, The building inspection method and inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the location and the amount of attenuation are three-dimensionally represented, and an internal defect distribution map is extracted.   The terahertz generator includes a Gunn diode, an Impat diode, a tannet diode, a quantum cascade laser, a p-type germanium laser, an element such as a resonant tunneling diode, an electron tube such as a backward oscillator, an oscillator using a high-frequency transistor, and a free electron laser The terahertz generation method using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, a terahertz parametric oscillator, or a terahertz difference frequency generator using a semiconductor crystal such as GaP. Inspection method and inspection system.   The building according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave generation source included in the at least two probe structures includes at least two frequency components in the range of at least 20-140 GHz and 140-325 GHz. Inspection method and inspection system for objects.   2. The probe structure includes a scanning unit in an xy plane parallel to a plane to be observed and a scanning unit in a normal direction of the xy plane to obtain a three-dimensional image of a building. The building inspection method and inspection system according to claim 3.   The sample has a hollow pipe shape or a columnar shape including a non-planar surface, and the probe is scanned in the normal direction (r), the rotation direction (θ), and the length direction (Z) from the hollow interior to the object surface. The building inspection method and inspection system according to claim 1, wherein:

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