Rust sensor monitors roads

Rusted metal in concrete structures can be detected through new technology that uses electromagnetic fields to measure corrosion through non-ferrous material.

The non-destructive technology from

, a spin-out company from

, is being used to survey stretches of motorway such as the Hammersmith Flyover in west London and car parks across the country.

The equipment includes a probe with a passive 3D field sensor and a device that emits a proprietary combination of electromagnetic signals to energise the rust and steel in a concrete structure.

In the technology's current form, the probe is pulled along a surface in a frame like a golf trolley to gain an initial scan of the steel structure. The energising device trails behind the probe. The probe is then sent along the surface path again to take another scan.

'We compare the before-energised scan with the after-energised scan and analyse it to find anomalies between the two,' said Matthew Hocking, SciSite operations director.