Sensitivity of Two Stress Wave-Based Methods for Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Slabs
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23, Issue 4
Abstract
Among several nondestructive testing methods, impact echo (IE) and ultrasonic surface waves (USW) have shown promising results for performance monitoring and condition assessment of concrete structures. To ensure their proper use, it is critical to quantify the potentials and limitations of those methods and to specify the degree of sensitivity of each method to different structural and defect parameters. In this study, the sensitivity of the IE and USW methods are investigated through high spatial resolution and extensive numerical simulations of intact and defective slabs. The results of the experimental and numerical studies show that the effectiveness and reliability of these two methods are limited by their sensitivity to several parameters, including boundary conditions, the geometry and material properties of a concrete structure, and the size and location of discontinuities in structures. Given the sensitivity of each method to several parameters, the combination of the IE and USW tests is recommended for more reliable quality control of newly constructed concrete structures and condition assessment of existing ones.
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Acknowledgments
This study was carried out as part of the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) Project R06-G. The contents of this paper reflect the authors’ opinions, not necessarily the policies and findings of the SHRP2 project. The authors are grateful to Dr. Andrew Wimsatt from Texas A&M Transportation Institute for granting us access to the concrete slabs and for his help in arranging the tests.
References
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23 • Issue 4 • December 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 26, 2015
Accepted: Dec 21, 2016
Published online: Mar 23, 2017
Discussion open until: Aug 23, 2017
Published in print: Dec 1, 2017
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