Nondestructive Evaluation of Rebar Corrosion–Induced Damage in Concrete through Ultrasonic Imaging
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 10
Abstract
Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete is a billion dollar problem spread across the globe. Early detection of corrosion-induced damage preempts weakening of the structure and timely rehabilitation extends its life. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a reliable nondestructive diagnostic tool for detection of corrosion-induced damage in concrete structures. This paper presents two ultrasonic wave–based imaging techniques for monitoring changes in the concrete subsurface during various stages of rebar corrosion. An accelerated corrosion setup was developed to induce corrosion in a rebar embedded in a concrete slab specimen. A pitch catch mode of ultrasonic scanning was performed on a set of grid points on the test specimen using compressional and Rayleigh wave transducer arrangements. In the first approach, the traditional synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) was used to produce images in the horizontal and vertical planes using the compressional wave velocity information and incorporating corrections related to limited directivity of the transducers. In the second approach, the planar SAFT algorithm was used for detection of vertical corrosion cracks, using the scattered Rayleigh wave field. The study shows that with progress of corrosion, the rebar image disappears from the compressional wave–based SAFT images while the corrosion-induced surface breaking cracks appear in the planar SAFT images. The combination of these two approaches has potential to be a powerful qualitative nondestructive technique for identification and localization of damage leading to requisite repair and maintenance activities.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The following items are available from the corresponding author:
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Data corresponding to pristine condition in CSV format;
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Data corresponding to the intermediate stage of corrosion in CSV format; and
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Data corresponding to the advanced stage of corrosion in CSV format.
Acknowledgments
The support from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 10 • October 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 5, 2019
Accepted: Apr 10, 2020
Published online: Jul 29, 2020
Published in print: Oct 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Dec 29, 2020
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