We at PSI are committed to providing cost-effective solutions for the maintenance, repair, and protection of public and private buildings, and the nation’s concrete infrastructure. Our Investigative Structural Testing and Evaluation (ISTE) Division assists clients in quantifying damage and distress of structural assets for the purpose of developing long-term repair and maintenance programs. Through advanced laboratory and field testing procedures, the ISTE Division provides clients with accurate, cost-effective solutions designed to prolong the lives of commercial properties, industrial facilities, and the transportation infrastructure.

PSI’s structural investigations require several steps. A visual inspection will help identify and qualify distress such as reinforcing-steel corrosion, freeze-thaw damage, and alkali-silica reactivity in concrete structures. Next, PSI engineers develop a project-specific field sampling and testing program to further assess the condition of the structure. This program may include destructive and/or nondestructive tests such as delamination surveys, half-cell potentials, rate-of corrosion measurements, and petrographic analysis. Finally, samples are forwarded to our state-of-the-art testing laboratory for further evaluation. PSI’s comprehensive field and laboratory testing capabilities include:

	Condition surveys
	Delamination surveys -Chain-drag -Hammer sounding -Impact echo -Thermography -Ground penetrating radar
	Core sampling -Compressive strength -Tensile strength -Pull-off/Bond test
	Crack/movement monitoring
	Electrical continuity of embedded metals
	Carbonation
	Half-cell potential
	Windsor probe
	Pulse velocity testing
	Rate-of-corrosion measurement
	Chloride ion content
	Petrographic analysis
	X-ray diffraction
	Rapid chloride permeability
	Alkali-silica reaction

After completing the field investigation and laboratory testing, PSI engineers develop programs to reduce further damage and premature deterioration of buildings and structures. When establishing repair and protection strategies, they consider life-cycle cost-analysis, longevity of repairs, and the impact the project will have on the structure and its public use and safety.

PSI Petrography Lab