TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, T. A1 - Sens-Schönfelder, C. A1 - Epple, Niklas A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Imaging of Small-Scale Heterogeneity and Absorption Using Adjoint Envelope Tomography: Results From Laboratory Experiments N2 - To complement the information provided by deterministic seismic imaging at length scales above a certain resolution limit we present the first application of adjoint envelope tomography (AET) to experimental data. AET uses the full envelopes of seismic records including scattered coda waves to obtain information about the distribution of absorption and small-scale heterogeneity which provide complementary information about the investigated medium. Being below the resolution limit this small-scale structure cannot be resolved by conventional tomography but still affects wave propagation by attenuating ballistic waves and generating scattered waves. Using ultrasound data from embedded sensors in a meter-sized concrete specimen we image the distribution of absorption and heterogeneity expressed by the intrinsic quality factor Q−1 and the fluctuation strength ɛ that characterizes the strength of the heterogeneity. The forward problem is solved by modeling the 2-D multiple nonisotropic scattering in an acoustic medium with spatially variable heterogeneity and attenuation using the Monte-Carlo method. Gradients for the model updates are obtained by convolution with the back-propagated envelope misfit using the adjoint formalism in analogy to full waveform inversion. We use a late coda time window to invert for absorption and an earlier time window to infer the distribution of heterogeneity. The results successfully locate an area of salt oncrete with increased scattering and concentric anomalies of intrinsic attenuation. The resolution test shows that the recovered anomalies constitute reasonable representations of internal structure of the specimen. KW - Ultrasound KW - Scattering KW - Tomography KW - Concrete KW - Heterogeneity PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563163 DO - https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB024972 SN - 2169-9313 VL - 127 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 21 PB - American Geophysical Union AN - OPUS4-56316 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Arndt, R.W. A1 - Grosse, C.U, A1 - Maehner, D. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Taffe, A. A1 - Algernon, D. A1 - Berger, J. A1 - Kessler, S. A1 - Krueger, M. A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Ufermann-Wallmeier, D. A1 - Walther, A. T1 - Non-destructive testing in civil engineering: A memorandum for teaching at German-speaking universities N2 - This contribution summarizes actual developments and draft fundamental teaching topics in the field of nondestructive testing in civil engineering (NDT-CE). It is based on the first memorandum on teaching and research in the field of NDT-CE at German speaking universities and provides an overview of the academic education and highlights possible focuses, especially in teaching but also takes into account noteworthy developments and topics in research in the field of NDT-CE. Suggestions are given for the development and advancement of the teaching curricula in regards to a comprehensive and sound professional education of students in civil engineering and adjacent disciplines. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Curriculum KW - NDT-CE KW - University KW - Competencies PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563269 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/61547_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56326 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Epple, Niklas A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Fontoura Barroso, Daniel T1 - Coda Wave Interferometry for Monitoring Bridges with Embedded Ultrasonic Transducers – Lessons Learned at the Gänstorbrücke Bridge Ulm, Germany N2 - Ultrasonic Coda Wave interferometry has the potential to detect minute changes in scattering materials like concrete. By permanently installing ultrasonic transducers in concrete, DFG Research unit CoDA aims to develop methods for concrete damage assessment in Germany's aging infrastructure. To test the methods developed in simulations and laboratory experiments on a large scale, we have implemented several ultrasonic transducers at the Gänstorbrücke Ulm, one of Germany's most monitored road bridges. Since fall 2020 we are monitoring parts of the center of the Bridge, as well as an abutment, and compare the results to the commercial monitoring system. All data is recorded with a self-made data collection device, the so-called W-Box, and analyzed with different coda wave-based algorithms to detect signal and volumetric velocity changes. The long-term measurements show that the influence of temperature changes on strains and therefore ultrasound velocity changes calculated with coda waves can be monitored. The capabilities and limitations of the coda wave-based monitoring system are tested in a controlled experiment. Static loading using a truck with varying loads at several positions allows the calibration of the system to improve the detectability of possibly damaging loads and changes induced by this loading. A map of velocity change analyzing data from this load experiment shows that the influence of load on the material and strain distribution can be detected with array measurements. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 - The International Symposium on Nondestructive Testing in Civil Engineering CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Coda Wave Interferometry KW - Ultrasound KW - Embedded sensors KW - Bridge Monitoring KW - Load Experiment PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564531 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-56453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rabe, U. A1 - Pudovikov, S. A1 - Herrmann, H.-G. A1 - Wiggenhauser, H. A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Evaluation of retroreflective corner echo for detection of surface breaking cracks in concrete by ultrasound N2 - The retroreflective corner echo is used, for example, in ultrasonic non-destructive testing of metals to find fatigue cracks in tubes or shafts. If the much weaker crack tip signal is additionally detected, the crack length can also be determined. A corner reflection occurs in cases of surface breaking cracks with predominantly perpendicular orientation to the surface. The intensity of the corner reflection depends on the angle of incidence and on the ultrasonic wave mode used. For the reliable detection of vertical surface breaking cracks in metals, transversal waves are commonly used, which propagate at an angle of 37° to 53° to the inspection surface. As shown in this contribution, the wide spread low frequency ultrasonic arrays with dry point contact sources available for ultrasonic testing of concrete also allow to receive corner echoes. These devices generate transversal waves in concrete structures with a large divergence of the sound field. A series of experiments was carried out with such dry point contact arrays on concrete specimens with artificial test defects and controlled induced cracks of different depths. The ultrasonic time-of-flight signals were recorded, exported and reconstructed utilising the SAFT (Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique) algorithm. The SAFT reconstruction parameters were adjusted to visualize the corner echo indication. As will be shown, with this targeted processing, the reproducible detection of surface breaking cracks in concrete is possible. The retroreflective corner echo can thus be exploited in civil engineering for non-destructive inspection of concrete. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Concrete KW - Crack depth KW - Ultrasound KW - SAFT PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563365 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/27256_manuscript.pdf IS - 27256 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56336 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Landis, E. A1 - Hassefras, Emiel A1 - Oesch, Tyler A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - A Microstructural Basis for Diffuse Ultrasound in Concrete N2 - Attenuation of ultrasonic signals in concrete has the potential to carry much information about the microstructure of the material. In this work a series of concrete specimens of varying porosities and pore size distributions were internally imaged with x-ray computed tomography (CT), and then subsequently examined with throughtransmission ultrasound. The CT images were used to quantify both capillary porosity of cement paste as well as internal interfaces that are likely to produce elastic wave scattering. Ultrasound signals were represented as a diffusion process such that absorption and scattering attenuation could be isolated. As implemented, the diffusion model was a poor predictor of capillary porosity, while diffusivity was a reasonable predictor of scattering interfaces. Diffusivity was found to scale extremely well with small scale porosity, which made it a good predictor of compressive strength. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Concrete KW - X-ray tomography KW - Ultrasound PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563371 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/61592_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56337 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Buske, S. A1 - Büttner, C. T1 - Application of Elastic P-SV Reverse Time Migration to Synthetic Ultrasonic Echo Data from Concrete Members N2 - The ultrasonic echo technique is frequently used in non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures for thickness measurements, geometry determinations as well as localization of built-in components. To improve ultrasonic imaging of complex structures in concrete, we transferred a geophysical imaging technique, the reverse time migration (RTM), to NDT in civil engineering. In contrast to the conventionally used synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) algorithms, RTM is a wavefield continuation method in time and uses the full wave equation. Thus, RTM can handle complicated wave propagations in any direction without dip limitation. In this paper, we focused on the application and evaluation of a two-dimensional (2D) elastic RTM algorithm considering compressional waves, vertically polarized shear waves, and Rayleigh waves. We tested the elastic RTM routine on synthetic ultrasonic echo data generated with a 2D concrete model consisting of several steps and circular air inclusions. As these complex structures can often be found in real-world NDT use cases, their imaging is especially important. By using elastic RTM, we were able to clearly reproduce vertical reflectors and lower edges of circular air voids inside our numerical concrete model. Such structures cannot be imaged with conventional SAFT algorithms. Furthermore, the used elastic RTM approach also yielded a better reconstruction of a horizontal reflector and upper boundaries of circular air inclusions. Our encouraging results demonstrate that elastic RTM has the potential to significantly improve the imaging of complex concrete structures and, thus, is a step forward for detailed, high-quality ultrasonic NDT in civil engineering. KW - Concrete KW - Ultrasound KW - Imaging KW - Reverse time migration KW - Elastic PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-580680 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-023-00962-w SN - 0195-9298 VL - 42 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-58068 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rabe, U. A1 - Pudovikov, S. A1 - Herrmann, H.-G. A1 - Wiggenhauser, H. A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Using the Corner Reflection for Depth Evaluation of Surface Breaking Cracks in Concrete by Ultrasound N2 - The corner echo is a well-known effect in ultrasonic testing, which allows detection of surface breaking cracks with predominantly perpendicular orientation to the surface as, for example, corrosion cracks in metal pipes or shafts. This echo is formed by two planes, the surface of the crack and the surface which the crack breaks. It can also be classified as a half-skip method, since a reflection of the pulse occurs on the backwall before the reflection at the defect takes place. In combination with the diffraction from the crack tip, the corner echo also allows crack sizing. As shown in this paper, the corner reflection can be used in civil engineering for nondestructive inspection of concrete. Commercially available low frequency ultrasonic arrays with dry point contact sources generate SH transversal waves with sufficient divergence of the sound field in order to detect corner reflections. Ultrasonic line-scans and area-scans were acquired with a linear array on flat concrete specimens, and the data were reconstructed by the Synthetic aperture focusing technique. If the angles and the area of reconstruction are chosen accordingly, the corner echo reflection can be distinguished from other ultrasonic information. The corner echo can thus be used as a method for deciding whether a crack is a partial-depth crack or a full-depth crack and thus for obtaining a statement about crack depth. This paper presents corresponding experimental results obtained on concrete specimens with artificial test defects and cracks induced under controlled conditions. KW - Ultrasound KW - Crack depth KW - Concrete KW - Corner echo PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-574631 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-023-00956-8 SN - 0195-9298 VL - 42 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-57463 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maack, Stefan A1 - Küttenbaum, Stefan A1 - Bühling, Benjamin A1 - Borchardt-Giers, Kerstin A1 - Aßmann, Norman A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Low frequency ultrasonic pulse-echo datasets for object detection and thickness measurement in concrete specimens as testing tasks in civil engineering N2 - The dataset contains raw data gathered with the ultrasonic pulse-echo method on concrete specimens. The surfaces of the measuring objects were automatically scanned point by point. Pulse-echo measurements were performed at each of these measuring points. The test specimens represent two typical testing tasks in construction industry: the detection of objects and the determination of dimensions to describe the geometry of components. By automating the measurement process, the different test scenarios are examined with a high repeatability, precision and measuring point density. Longitu- dinal and transversal waves were used and the geometrical aperture of the testing system was varied. The low-frequency probes operate in a range of up to approximately 150 kHz. In addition to the specification of the geometrical dimensions of the individual probes, the directivity pattern and the sound field characteristics are provided. The raw data are stored in a universally readable format. The length of each time signal (A-scan) is two milliseconds and the sampling rate is two mega-samples per second. The provided data can be used for comparative studies in signal analysis, imag- ing and interpretation as well as for evaluation pur- poses in different, practically relevant testing scenarios. KW - Validation KW - Puls-echo method KW - Ultrasonic KW - Non-destructive testing KW - SAFT KW - Reconstruction algorithm PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575185 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109233 SN - 2352-3409 VL - 48 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Elsevier Inc. AN - OPUS4-57518 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Behrens, Matthias T1 - Enhancing the Performance of a Large Aperture Ultrasound System (LAUS): A Combined Approach of Simulation and Measurement for Transmitter–Receiver Optimization N2 - The Large Aperture Ultrasound System (LAUS) developed at BAM is known for its ability to penetrate thick objects, especially concrete structures commonly used in nuclear waste storage and other applications in civil engineering. Although the current system effectively penetrates up to ~9 m, further optimization is imperative to enhance the safety and integrity of disposal structures for radioactive or toxic waste. This study focuses on enhancing the system’s efficiency by optimizing the transducer spacing, ensuring that resolution is not compromised. An array of twelve horizontal shear wave transducers was used to find a balance between penetration depth and resolution. Systematic adjustments of the spacing between transmitter and receiver units were undertaken based on target depth ranges of known reflectors at depth ranges from 5 m to 10 m. The trade-offs between resolution and artifact generation were meticulously assessed. This comprehensive study employs a dual approach using both simulations and measurements to investigate the performance of transducer units spaced at 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm. We found that for depths up to 5 m, a spacing of 10 cm for LAUS transducer units provided the best resolution as confirmed by both simulations and measurements. This optimal distance is particularly effective in achieving clear reflections and a satisfactory signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in imaging scenarios with materials such as thick concrete structures. However, when targeting depths greater than 10 m, we recommend increasing the distance between the transducers to 20 cm. This increased spacing improves the SNR in comparison to other spacings, as seen in the simulation of a 10 m deep backwall. Our results emphasize the critical role of transducer spacing in achieving the desired SNR and resolution, especially in the context of depth imaging requirements for LAUS applications. In addition to the transducer spacing, different distances between individual sets of measurement positions were tested. Overall, keeping the minimal possible distance between measurement position offsets provides the best imaging results at greater depths. The proposed optimizations for the LAUS in this study are primarily relevant to applications on massive nuclear structures for nuclear waste management. This research highlights the need for better LAUS efficiency in applications such as sealing structures, laying the foundation for future technological advances in this field. KW - Engineered barrier system KW - Phased array technique KW - Ultrasonic testing KW - Non-destructive testing in civil engineering KW - Seismic migration PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-592426 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s24010100 VL - 24 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-59242 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Maack, Stefan A1 - Buske, Stefan T1 - Application of iterative elastic SH reverse time migration to synthetic ultrasonic echo data N2 - The ultrasonic echo technique is widely used in non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete objects for thickness measurements, geometry determinations and localization of built-in components. To improve ultrasonic imaging of complex concrete structures, we transferred a seismic imaging technique, the Reverse Time Migration (RTM), to NDT in civil engineering. RTM, in contrast to the conventionally used synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) algorithms, considers all wavefield types and thus, can handle complex wave propagations in any direction with no limit on velocity variations and reflector dip. In this paper, we focused on the development, application and evaluation of a two-dimensional elastic RTM algorithm considering horizontally polarized shear (SH) waves only. We applied the elastic SH RTM routine to synthetic ultrasonic echo SH-wave data generated with a concrete model incorporating several steps and circular cavities. As these features can often be found in real-world NDT use cases, their imaging is extremely important. By using elastic SH RTM, we were able to clearly reproduce almost all reflectors inside the concrete model including the vertical step edges and the cross sections of the cavities.We were also capable to show that more features could be mapped compared to SAFT, and that imaging of complex reflectors could be sharpened compared to elastic P-SV (compressional-vertically polarized shear) RTM. Our promising results illustrate that elastic SH RTM has the potential to significantly enhance the reconstruction of challenging concrete structures, representing an important step forward for precise, high-quality ultrasonic NDT in civil engineering. KW - Ultrasonic echo technique KW - Concrete structures KW - Elastic reverse time migration KW - Synthetic aperture focusing technique KW - Horizontally polarized shear waves PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-591716 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-023-01010-3 SN - 1573-4862 VL - 43 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Springer Science and Business Media CY - Dordrecht AN - OPUS4-59171 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Effner, Ute A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Arendt, J. A1 - Hofmann, M. A1 - Kudla, W. T1 - Ultrasonic quality assurance at magnesia shotcrete sealing structures N2 - Engineered barriers are a key element to enable safe nuclear waste disposal. One method currently under research for their construction is magnesia concrete applied in a shotcrete procedure. In this study, the ultrasonic echo method is evaluated as a means for quality assurance. Imaging of internal structures (backwall, boreholes) and defects, such as delamination, has successfully been achieved in the shotcrete. Additionally, detailed information about the potential cause of selected reflectors are obtained by phase analysis. In several test blocks of various sizes, no consistent concrete section boundaries have been found by ultrasonic imaging, which was verified by subsequent drilling and complementary tests. An experiment with artificial defects imitating cracks, air-filled voids, and material with lower density has been challenging and shows the limitations of the current methods. Although significant defects, such as a large delamination, are reliably identified, several smaller defects are not identified. Generally, ultrasonic imaging provides a suitable base as a mean for quality assurance during and after the construction of sealing structures. However, further developments are required to enhance the reliability of the method and a full validation is still pending. Still, the method has potential to increase the safety of nuclear waste repositories. KW - Ultrasound KW - Imaging KW - Engineered barrier systems KW - Underground KW - Shotcrete PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563170 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s22228717 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 22 IS - 22 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-56317 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schumacher, T. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Combining Passive and Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring Techniques: Opportunities for Condition Evaluation of Concrete Structures N2 - Concrete structures are invaluable assets to a society and managing them efficiently and effectively can be supported by information gathered through structural health monitoring (SHM). In this paper, a combined approach based on passive, i.e., acoustic emission (AE), and active, i.e., ultrasonic stress wave (USW) monitoring techniques for application to concrete structures is proposed and evaluated. While AE and USW are based on the same underlying physics, i.e., wave motion in solids, they differ fundamentally with respect to the nature of the source. For the former, external stimuli such as mechanical loads or temperature cause the rapid release of energy from initially unknown locations. As a result, AE events are unique and cannot be repeated. For the latter, a known source at a known location is employed at a specified time. This approach is thus controlled and repeatable. It is argued that a combination of these two techniques has the potential to provide a more comprehensive picture of ongoing fracture processes, damage progression, as well as slowly occurring aging and degradation mechanisms. This combined approach does thus promise new opportunities to support condition assessment of concrete structures. After providing an overview and comparison of the two techniques, results, and observations from a full-scale laboratory experiment and an in-service bridge monitoring study are discussed to demonstrate the promise of the proposed combined monitoring approach. Finally, suggestions for further work are presented. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Ultrasound KW - Acoustic emission KW - Concrete structures KW - Monitoring PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563242 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/61607_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56324 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Feistkorn, S. A1 - Algernon, D. A1 - Arndt, R. A1 - Ebell, Gino A1 - Friese, M. A1 - Grosse, C. U. A1 - Holstein, R. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Schickert, M. A1 - Schulze, S. A1 - Taffe, A. A1 - Walther, A. A1 - Wolf, J. A1 - Zoega, A. A1 - Zwanzig, M. T1 - Introduction to DIN 4871: Qualification of NDT Personnel in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE) N2 - Recently, non-destructive testing in civil engineering (NDT-CE), in particular of concrete components, has successfully mastered the leap from research to practice. Several methods have been established for field inspections to determine the concrete cover of reinforcement or to estimate the compressive strength as well as other parameters related to the concrete material. In addition, the application of nondestructive testing is indispensable, if information about the inner structure - such as the location of rebars and tendon ducts or the damage-related condition assessment to detect grouting defects, honeycombs, delamination, or corrosion - is required. Besides the selection of a suitable NDT method and an appropriate inspection system, the reliability of the results depends largely on the person who applies the non-destructive inspection technique and evaluates the inspection results. To ensure a high quality of non-destructive concrete evaluation as well as to keep the uncertainty caused by the inspection personnel to a minimum, structured, consistent and regulated theoretical as well as practical training of inspection personnel is essential. To close this gap, the subcommittee of education (UA-A) within the committee for NDT-CE of the German Society for Nondestructive Testing (DGZfP) has been reactivated in 2018 to establish uniform training standards for nondestructive concrete inspections in the long term. The subcommittee consists of scientists, practitioners, authorities, and clients. So far, the national standard DIN 4871 “Non-destructive testing - Qualification and Certification of NDT personnel in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE)” was developed and is currently under review. This standard considers the civil-industry-specifics, for example, that standards for NDT of concrete, as well as related product standards with a few exceptions, still do not exist at the moment. Within this presentation, the concept, the connection to ISO 9712 and other standards as well as an overview of the developed German standard DIN 4871 will be presented. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Non-destrucive testing KW - Civil engineering PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-555250 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/66594_manuscript.pdf VL - 2022/09 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - NDT.net CY - Bad Breisig AN - OPUS4-55525 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Guangliang, Y. A1 - Mahon, D. A1 - Gardner, S. T1 - Muon tomography applied to assessment of concrete structures: First experiments and simulations. N2 - Non-destructive techniques for reinforced or prestressed concrete inspection such as ultrasound or radar have found regular, successful practical application but sometimes suffer from limited resolution and accuracy, imaging artefacts or restrictions in detecting certain features. Until the 1980s X-ray transmission was used in case of special demands and showed a much better resolution than other NDT techniques. However, due to safety concerns and cost issues, this method is almost never used anymore. Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Novel detectors for cosmic muons and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened new fields of application. As a first step towards practical application in civil engineering and as a proof of concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference reinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this kind of investigation, the muon imaging results are at least of similar quality compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging, potentially even better. In a second step, we have performed simulations to assess the potential for a set of important testing problems such as grouting defects in tendon ducts. The next steps include the development of mobile detectors and optimizing acquisition and imaging parameters. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Muon tomography KW - Concrete KW - Inspection KW - Simulation PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563224 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/60943_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56322 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Effner, Ute A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Arendt, J. A1 - Kudla, W. T1 - Ultrasonic quality assurance for underground salt shotcrete sealing structures in Teutschenthal mine, Germany N2 - Underground sealing structures are necessary to seal radioactive or toxic waste in underground repositories. A special version of MgO concrete is used in the mine in Teutschenthal and applied at a large-scale test with the aim to provide a low permeability barrier. The test structures (up to 10 m long) were created by shotcreting. Besides destructive tests, non-destructive ultrasonic measurements have been evaluated for quality assurance to monitor potential anomalies such as cracks, concrete inhomogeneities, and delamination. We show results of ultrasonic measurements with a multi-transducer system used at the front and from the side of the concrete structure. Images are obtained by synthetic aperture focusing techniques. The boundaries between concreting sections are not visible in the ultrasonic images systematically so that a successful concreting is assumed, which is confirmed by the low permeabilities observed. Several reflectors up to a depth of 1.2 m are identified and interpreted as potential damages in the concrete. Phase analysis of prominent reflectors reveal a negative impedance contrast thus indicating air filled voids, cracks or delamination. Boreholes through some of the identified reflectors are used to verify the results from ultrasonic measurements. Additionally, an experiment with incorporated artificial defects was undertaken to analyse the reliability of the applied methods. Overall, the conducted tests show the potential of ultrasonic measurements to detect critical anomalies. Despite challenges at small-scale structures (cm-order), large-scale anomalies can be identified. Consequently, implementing ultrasonic monitoring during and after the construction of concrete sealing structures has shown its potential as a tool for quality assurance, but needs further development and validation. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Ultrasound KW - Ultrasonic imaging KW - Magnesia shotcrete KW - Underground KW - Engineered barrier systems PY - 2022 UR - https://www.ndt.net/events/proceedings/topic.php?eventID=292&TopicID=27209 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-55824 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Buske, B. T1 - Application of Elastic Reverse Time Migration to Ultrasonic Echo Data in Civil Engineering N2 - To improve ultrasonic imaging of concrete structures, we transferred a seismic migration technique, the Reverse Time Migration (RTM), to non-destructive testing. A 2D elastic RTM algorithm was tested on synthetic ultrasonic echo data. Compared to the typically used synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) as well as our acoustic RTM algorithm, the presented elastic RTM results show an enhancement in imaging vertical reflectors and complex features inside the 2D numerical concrete model. T2 - The International Symposium on Nondestructive Testing in Civil Engineering CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Ultrasonic Echo Technique KW - Reverse Time Migration KW - Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-561147 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/60699_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 6 AN - OPUS4-56114 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Abraham, O. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Schmidt, F. A1 - Sörensen, J.D. A1 - Thöns, S. A1 - Chapeleau, X. A1 - Ferria, H. T1 - Infrastar Training School on Fatigue and Reliability Analysis of Structures - Training for Assessment of Risk N2 - The Infrastar training school provides lectures and hands-on training to Master and PhD students, early-stage researchers and (young) professionals on all aspects of asset management of civil infrastructures with respect to fatigue of materials. It is organized yearly since 2019 and up to 20 profiles are selected to attend the 3.5-day training. A team of 7 teachers provides insight in multi-disciplinary and intersectoral basic concepts in three core fields, ranging from the design to the dismantling of the structures (bridges and wind turbines): 1. Monitoring and auscultation, 2. Structural and action models, 3. Reliability, risk and decision analyses. Each year, a recognized expert is invited to deliver a keynote lecture to raise interest in a specific aspect of one of the fields covered. The presentation is recorded and published on the training school website. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Doctoral School KW - Multidisciplinary KW - Fatigue KW - Reliability PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-563253 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/61021_manuscript.pdf SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56325 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolditz, O. A1 - Jacques, D. A1 - Claret, F. A1 - Bertrand, J. A1 - Churakov, S. V. A1 - Debayle, C. A1 - Diaconu, D. A1 - Fuzik, K. A1 - Garcia, D. A1 - Graebling, N. A1 - Grambow, B. A1 - Holt, E. A1 - Idiart, A. A1 - Leira, P. A1 - Montoya, V. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Olin, M. A1 - Pfingsten, W. A1 - Prasianakis, N. I. A1 - Rink, K. A1 - Sampier, J. A1 - Szöke, I. A1 - Szöke, R. A1 - Theodon, L. A1 - Wendling, J. T1 - Digitalisation for nuclear waste management: predisposal and disposal N2 - Data science (digitalisation and artificial intelligence) became more than an important facilitator for many domains in fundamental and applied sciences as well as industry and is disrupting the way of research already to a large extent. Originally, data sciences were viewed to be well-suited, especially, for data-intensive applications such as image processing, pattern recognition, etc. In the recent past, particularly, data-driven and physics-inspired machine learning methods have been developed to an extent that they accelerate numerical simulations and became directly usable for applications related to the nuclear waste management cycle. In addition to process-based approaches for creating surrogate models, other disciplines such as virtual reality methods and high-performance computing are leveraging the potential of data sciences more and more. The present challenge is utilising the best models, input data and monitoring information to integrate multi-chemical-physical, coupled processes, multi-scale and probabilistic simulations in Digital Twins (DTw) able to mirror or predict the performance of its corresponding physical twins. Therefore, the main target of the Topical Collection is exploring how the development of DTw can benefit the development of safe, efficient solutions for the pre-disposal and disposal of radioactive waste. A particular challenge for DTw in radioactive waste management is the combination of concepts from geological modelling and underground construction which will be addressed by linking structural and multi-physics/chemistry process models to building or tunnel information models. As for technical systems, engineered structures a variety of DTw approaches already exist, the development of DTw concepts for geological systems poses a particular challenge when taking the complexities (structures and processes) and uncertainties at extremely varying time and spatial scales of subsurface environments into account. KW - Data science KW - Digitalization KW - Nuclear waste KW - Disposal KW - Predisposal PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569387 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10675-4 SN - 1866-6280 VL - 82 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-56938 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Stolpe, Heiko A1 - Behrens, Matthias A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Validation of novel ultrasonic phased array borehole probe by using simulation and measurement N2 - Low-frequency ultrasonic testing is a well-established non-destructive testing (NDT) method in civil engineering for material characterization and the localization of cracks, reinforcing bars and delamination. A novel ultrasonic borehole probe is developed for in situ quality assurance of sealing structures in radioactive waste repositories using existing research boreholes. The aim is to examine the sealing structures made of salt concrete for any possible cracks and delamination and to localize built-in components. A prototype has been developed using 12 individual horizontal dry point contact (DPC) shear wave transducers separated by equidistant transmitter/receiver arrays. The probe is equipped with a commercially available portable ultrasonic flaw detector used in the NDT civil engineering industry. To increase the sound pressure generated, the number of transducers in the novel probe is increased to 32 transducers. In addition, the timed excitation of each transducer directs a focused beam of sound to a specific angle and distance based on the previously calculated delay time. This narrows the sensitivity of test volume and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signals. In this paper, the newly designed phased array borehole probe is validated by beam computation in the CIVA software and experimental investigations on a half-cylindrical test specimen to investigate the directional characteristics. In combination with geophysical reconstruction methods, it is expected that an optimised radiation pattern of the probe will improve the signal quality and thus increase the reliability of the imaging results. This is an important consideration for the construction of safe sealing structures for the safe disposal of radioactive or toxic waste. KW - Ultrasound KW - Phased array KW - Concrete KW - Borehole PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-565722 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s22249823 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 22 IS - 24 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-56572 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holt, E. A1 - Oksa, M. A1 - Nieminen, M. A1 - Abdelouas, A. A1 - Banford, A. A1 - Fournier, M. A1 - Mennecart, T. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Predisposal conditioning, treatment, and performance assessment of radioactive waste streams N2 - Before the final disposal of radioactive wastes, various processes can be implemented to optimise the waste form. This can include different chemical and physical treatments, such as thermal treatment for waste reduction, waste conditioning for homogenisation and waste immobilisation for stabilisation prior to packaging and interim storage. Ensuring the durability and safety of the waste matrices and packages through performance and condition assessment is important for waste owners, waste management organisations, regulators and wider stakeholder communities. Technical achievements and lessons learned from the THERAMIN and PREDIS projects focused on low- and intermediate-level waste handling is shared here. The recently completed project on Thermal Treatment for Radioactive Waste Minimization and Hazard Reduction (THERAMIN) made advances in demonstrating the feasibility of different thermal treatment techniques to reduce volume and immobilise different streams of radioactive waste (LILW) prior to disposal. The Pre-Disposal Management of Radioactive Waste (PREDIS) project addresses innovations in the treatment of metallic materials, liquid organic waste and solid organic waste, which can result from nuclear power plant operation, decommissioning and other industrial processes. The project also addresses digitalisation solutions for improved safety and efficiency in handling and assessing cemented-waste packages in extended interim surface storage. KW - Radioactive waste KW - Predisposal KW - Treatment KW - Monitoring PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-567276 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2022036 SN - 2491-9292 VL - 8 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis AN - OPUS4-56727 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Stolpe, Heiko A1 - Behrens, Matthias A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Construction and validation of a novel phased array borehole probe for ultrasonic investigations at sealing structures in radioactive repositories N2 - A new type of ultrasonic borehole probe is currently under development for the quality assurance of sealing structures in radioactive waste repositories using existing research boreholes. The goal is to examine the sealing structures made of salt concrete for possible cracks, delamination, and embedded objects. Earlier prototype probes use 12 or 16 individual dry point contact (DPC) horizontal shear wave transducers grouped into a transmitter and a receiver array, each made up of six or eight individual transducers. They are operated with a commercially available portable ultrasonic flaw detector used in the civil engineering industry. To increase the generated sound pressure of the borehole probe, the number of transducers in the novel probe is increased to 32. In addition, timed excitation of each probe is used to direct a focused sound beam to a specific angle and distance based on calculated time delays. Hence, the sensitive test volume is limited, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signals is improved. This paper presents the validation of the newly developed phased array borehole probe by beam computation in CIVA software and experimental investigations on a semi-cylindrical test specimen to investigate the directional characteristics. In combination with geophysical reconstruction techniques, an optimised radiation pattern of the probe is expected to improve the signal quality and thus increase the reliability of the imaging results. This is of great importance for the construction of safe sealing structures needed for the disposal of radioactive or toxic waste. T2 - NDT-CE 2022 CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 16.08.2022 KW - Borehole probe KW - Phased array technique KW - SealWasteSafe KW - Monitoring KW - Engineered barrier; PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-568016 SN - 1435-4934 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-56801 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Effner, Ute A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Arendt, J. A1 - Hofmann, M. A1 - Kudla, W. T1 - Correction: Lay et al. Ultrasonic quality assurance at magnesia shotcrete sealing structures. Sensors 2022, 22, 8717 N2 - The authors wish to correct the following errors in the original paper Lay, V.; Effner, U.; Niederleithinger, E.; Arendt, J.; Hofmann, M.; Kudla, W. Ultrasonic Quality Assurance at Magnesia Shotcrete Sealing Structures. Sensors 2022, 22, 8717, https://doi.org/10.3390/s22228717. PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-584969 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187966 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 23 IS - 18 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-58496 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Maack, Stefan A1 - Buske, Stefan T1 - Correction: Application of iterative elastic SH reverse time migration to synthetic ultrasonic echo data N2 - This is a corrigendum to the original article "Application of iterative elastic SH reverse time migration to synthetic ultrasonic echo data" that was published in the "Journal of nondestructive evaluation" (2014, DOI: 10.1007/s10921-023-01010-3). PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-599597 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-024-01052-1 SN - 1573-4862 VL - 43 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - Springer Science and Business Media CY - Dordrecht AN - OPUS4-59959 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Baensch, Franziska A1 - Skłodowska, Anna A1 - Fritsch, Tobias A1 - Stamm, Michael A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Sturm, Patrick A1 - Kühne, Hans-Carsten A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Multi–sensory Monitoring and Non–destructive Testing of New Materials for Concrete Engineered Barrier Systems N2 - The crucial part of nuclear waste storage is the construction of sealing structures made of reliable, safe and well–understood materials. We present an extended analysis of long-term multi–sensory monitoring and non–destructive testing (NDT) inspection of two laboratory specimens aiming at potential materials for sealing structures for nuclear waste repositories. Specimens with a volume of 340 litres made from newly developed alkali–activated materials (AAM) and established salt concrete (SC) were analysed using embedded acoustic emission and wireless radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensors, ultrasonic echo imaging, active thermography, and X–ray computed tomography. The monitoring analysis showed lower heat of reaction and 50% less acoustic emission events in AAM compared to SC. However, due to the surface effects of the AAM material, the number of acoustic emission events increased significantly after approximately two months of monitoring. Subsequently performed NDT inspections reliably located embedded sensors and confirmed the absence of major cracks or impurities. The presented laboratory results show the feasibility and potential of comprehensive NDT monitoring and inspection to characterise cementitious and alternative materials as well as the need for multi–parameter long–term monitoring. Thus, our study demonstrates that tailored NDT investigations will help to develop safe sealing structures for nuclear waste repositories. KW - Radioactive waste KW - Barrier KW - Concrete KW - AAM KW - Non-destructive testing PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.22.516 SN - 1347-3913 VL - 22 IS - 9 SP - 516 EP - 529 PB - Japan Concrete Institute AN - OPUS4-61461 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holt, Erika A1 - Oksa, Maria A1 - Banford, Anthony A1 - Carbol, Paul A1 - Abdelouas, Abdesselam A1 - Giboire, Isabelle A1 - Mennecart, Thierry A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Predisposal Radioactive Waste Management (PREDIS) Project Final Achievements and Impacts Overview N2 - The PREDIS project on Predisposal of Radioactive Waste has succeeded in developing and implementing new methods, processes and technologies for treatment of challenging low-level waste (LLW) and intermediate level waste (ILW) streams. Over the 4-year duration, this Euratom project of 47 partners from 17 Member States has worked in close collaboration with 25 End User industrial members to advance the technologies associated with predisposal issues. This has included characterisation followed by treatment, conditioning and processing of metallics, liquid organic and solid organic wastes as well as with digitalization technologies for assessing performance of concrete waste packages and pre-disposal storage. Long-term modelling and performance testing have been done to verify the safety and effectiveness of the new or enhanced solutions. Value Assessments were done for some of the new solutions to ensure implementors would have sufficient tools for making choices about the potential implementation. This included life-cycle assessment of quantitative sustainability indicators and life cycle-costing for economic indicators. This project addressed new guidance on Waste Acceptance Criteria and contributed with a revised Strategic Research Agenda to guide future predisposal activities, complimentary to the holistic waste management programme. Knowledge Management actions were also an integral part of the whole project to foster competence development and capturing knowledge. Actions included training, mobility, and guidance especially through online forums such as webinars and digital training. This paper provides a snapshot of some of the key outcomes and impacts from the project, from technical as well as strategic and knowledge perspectives. KW - Nuclear waste KW - Pre-disposal KW - Intermediate storage KW - Treatment KW - Monitoring PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638480 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2025028 SN - 2491-9292 VL - 11 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - EDP Sciences AN - OPUS4-63848 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morichi, M. A1 - Fanchini, E. A1 - Bruggemann, C. A1 - Perot, B. A1 - Ricard, D. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Developments and experiences of the CHANCE, MICADO and PREDIS projects in radioactive waste characterization N2 - Characterization is a very important step in dealing with materials and waste streams generated during the operational and decommissioning phases of nuclear installations, including nuclear power plants. Characterization allows differentiation between materials that can be released from regulatory control and those that require further treatment and conditioning to become a stable waste form suitable for future storage and final disposal according to its waste classification. Characterization is also needed in the pre-disposal stages of radioactive waste management to demonstrate compliance with the waste acceptance criteria of the facilities that will accept the different waste forms. This work will present the strategies developed and implemented by the three projects for in-depth and accurate waste characterization and investigation of the different radioactive waste packages considered. CHANCE, MICADO, and PREDIS will present their goals, the methods developed, the technologies used and the (preliminary) results contributing to the improvement of the safety and the data and information quality of the waste packages analyzed at the different stages of the waste management process. Special emphasis will also be given to complementary approaches highlighting the usability of the technologies, the accessibility of the data, and the problem-solving of the three projects within the European panorama. KW - Waste management KW - Radioactive waste KW - Waste chracterization PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-571872 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2022052 SN - 2491-9292 VL - 9 IS - 12 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - EPJ Nuclear Sci. Technol. AN - OPUS4-57187 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Prabhakara, Prathik A1 - Baensch, Franziska A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Hofmann, Detlef A1 - Sturm, Patrick A1 - Stamm, Michael A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Multi-sensory monitoring and ultrasound for quality assurance at underground sealing structures N2 - Within the safety concepts of underground disposal sites of nuclear waste, engineered barriers play an important role. As these sealing structures have high demands concerning integrity, we aim at advancing the available construction materials, monitoring, and inspection techniques within the project SealWasteSafe. A specifically developed alkali-activated material is compared to classical salt concrete. A comprehensive multi-sensory monitoring scheme is used at 150-340 l specimens to monitor setting and hardening of both materials. All sensors are demonstrated to resist the highly alkaline environments. Besides cabled and wireless temperature and humidity of the materials, strain variations using fibre optic sensors and acoustic emissions are recorded over periods of at least 28 days, partly for more than eight months. After hardening of the specimens, further nondestructive evaluations using ultrasonic echo and thermographic measurements are conducted. Preliminary results proof the suitability of the tested sensors and clearly highlight differences between the tested materials. Particularly, the newly developed alkali-activated material shows lower acoustic emission activity indicating less cracking activity. Additionally, unique ultrasonic methods will enable better images of potential internal objects and cracks at in-situ sealing structures. A largescale ultrasonic system is optimised to reliably detect objects at a depth exceeding 9 m while still obtaining a good resolution. Modelling studies show the potential of further increasing the distance between individual transducer arrays. Additionally, a new ultrasonic borehole probe using phased arrays allowing for beam focussing is constructed and tested. Laboratory measurements at a halfcylindrical concrete specimen coincide well with the previous modelling. In total, the presented safe materials, detailed monitoring approaches and ultrasonic quality assurance methods will help to obtain safe sealing structures within salt as a host rock. The concepts can partly be transferred to sealing structures in alternative host rocks and will also be valuable for non-nuclear waste repositories. T2 - NDE NucCon CY - Espoo, Finland DA - 25.01.2023 KW - SealWasteSafe KW - Engineered barriers KW - Monitoring KW - Embedded sensors KW - Ultrasonic imaging PY - 2023 SP - 2 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-56928 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Martin, Tina A1 - Trela, Christiane T1 - Geophysical investigation of tailings dams - the TAILSAFE challenge N2 - One of the main problems in the assessment of the operability, stability and contamination potential of tailings facilities is the lack of data on subsurface materials, properties and structures. One key task in the use of geophysics is the selection of the proper methods for a given site/problem combination. Interpretation of the acquired and processed physical data (e.g. electrical resistivity distribution) into something useful for site assessment (e.g. contamination distribution) is another. In the TAILSAFE project (funded by the European Commission) we have worked with partners on the use of geophysics for tailings facilities inspection. DC and complex resistivity, ground penetrating radar, and spectral analysis of surface waves and multichannel analysis of surface waves have been used on dams and beaches. In most cases, our methods provided useful information on the subsurface structure, but the translation of geophysical values into geotechnical or other parameters is still challenging. KW - Geophysics KW - Geoelectrics KW - Ground penetrating radar KW - Spectral analysis of surface waves KW - Tailings PY - 2007 SN - 0967-0513 VL - 15 IS - 2 SP - 157 EP - 162 PB - EPP Publ. CY - Richmond AN - OPUS4-25080 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - THES A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Optimierung und Erweiterung der Parallel-Seismik-Methode zur Bestimmung der Länge von Fundamentpfählen N2 - Das Parallel-Seismik-Verfahren dient vor allem der nachträglichen Langenmessung von Fundamentpfählen oder ähnlichen Elementen zur Gründung von Bauwerken. Eine solche Messung wird beispielsweise notwendig, wenn ein Gebäude verstärkt, erhöht oder anders als bisher genutzt werden soll, aber keine Unterlagen mehr über die Fundamente vorhanden sind. Das Messprinzip des schon seit einigen Jahrzehnten bekannten Verfahrens ist relativ einfach: Auf dem Pfahlkopf wird meist durch Hammerschlag eine Stoßwelle erzeugt, die durch den Pfahl nach unten lauft. Dabei wird Energie in den Boden abgegeben. Die abgestrahlten Wellen werden von Sensoren in einem parallel zum Pfahl hergestellten Bohrloch registriert. Aus den Laufzeiten lassen sich die materialspezifischen Wellengeschwindigkeiten im Pfahl und im Boden sowie die Pfahllange ermitteln. Bisher wurde meist ein sehr einfaches Verfahren zur Datenauswertung verwendet, das die Lange der Pfahle systematisch überschätzt. In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurden die mathematisch-physikalischen Grundlagen beleuchtet und durch Computersimulation die Wellenausbreitung in Pfahl und Boden genau untersucht. Weitere Simulationen klarten den Einfluss verschiedener Mess- und Strukturparameter, beispielsweise den Einfluss von Bodenschichtung oder Fehlstellen im Pfahl. So konnte geklärt werden, in welchen Fällen mit dem Parallel-Seismik-Verfahren gute Ergebnisse erzielt werden können (z. B. bei Fundamenten in Sand oder Ton) und wo es an seine Grenzen stößt (z. B. bei Gründung im Fels). Auf Basis dieser Ergebnisse entstand ein neuer mathematischer Formalismus zur Auswertung der Laufzeiten. In Verbindung mit einem Verfahren zur Dateninversion, d. h. der automatischen Anpassung der Unbekannten in den Gleichungen an die Messergebnisse, lassen sich sehr viel genauere Werte für die Pfahllange ermitteln als mit allen bisher publizierten Verfahren. Zudem kann man nun auch mit relativ großen Abstanden zwischen Bohrloch und Pfahl (2 - 3 m) arbeiten. Die Methode wurde an simulierten Daten ausführlich getestet. Die Messmethode und das neue Auswerteverfahren wurden in einer Reihe praktischer Anwendungen getestet – und dies fast immer erfolgreich. Nur in einem Fall komplizierter Fundamentgeometrie bei gleichzeitig sehr hoher Anforderung an die Genauigkeit war schon nach Simulationen klar, dass hier ein Einsatz nicht sinnvoll ist. Dafür zeigte es sich, dass auch die Lange von Pfahlwanden und Spundwanden ermittelt werden kann. Die Parallel-Seismik-Methode funktioniert als einziges verfugbares Verfahren zur Fundamentlangenermittlung zugleich in den meisten Bodenarten sowie an metallischen und nichtmetallischen Fundamenten und kommt ohne Kalibrierung aus. Sie ist nun sehr viel breiter einsetzbar und liefert sehr viel genauere Ergebnisse. Die Simulationen zeigten noch Potential für Erweiterungen, zum Beispiel durch den Einsatz spezieller Sensoren, die zusätzliche Wellentypen empfangen und unterscheiden können. N2 - The Parallel Seismic (PS) method is used for determination of the unknown or undocumented depth/length of foundations, mostly piles. PS is an established but rather not commonly used geophysical technique, which has been developed several decades ago. Currently, this method is standardized in France and included in the FHWA method catalog. The principle behind PS is quite simple: an impulse is generated on top of the pile by a hammer stroke, generating elastic waves (mainly compressional) traveling downward through the pile. Due to the high impedance contrast between pile and soil, the main part of the energy remains in the pile, but some is transmitted as guided waves into the surrounding soil. After reaching the pile toe, transmitted/diffracted waves of nearly spherical front are generated. These waves are recorded by sensors (hydrophones or geophones) in a nearby borehole. From the first arrival times registered at the sensors, the apparent wave velocity is calculated, which is different above the pile toe (pile velocity) and below (soil velocity). In the conventional data analysis, the pile length is estimated based on the intersection of the two travel time branches, leading to a systematic overestimation of the length of the pile. This thesis provides a systematic treatise of the mathematical and physical foundations of wave propagation in piles and soil. Extensive numerical simulations and parametric studies have been carried out to investigate the nature of the wave-field and influence of measurement and structural parameters. The results revealed the range of applicability of Parallel Seismic, but also some limitations, e. g. in the case of rock socketed foundations or piles containing flaws. A new formalism for data interpretation was developed based on the simulation results, which takes into account the soil layers and the borehole inclination. This novel data interpretation scheme was used in combination with different data inversion methods. A comparison of the results showed that the commonly used Levenberg-Marquardt type least squares approach gives sufficiently accurate estimations in most common scenarios. The VFSA (very fast simulated annealing) method offers some advantages (e. g. avoiding local minima under certain conditions) but is much more time consuming. The new interpretation method was successfully validated using several sets of simulated data. It proved to be not only more accurate than all other available methods, but also to extend the maximum allowable pileborehole distance to 2 – 3 m. Besides the numerical study, several field investigations have been carried out for the purpose of this study and also in the framework of real world projects. The foundation types included secant pile walls and sheet piles. The method performed successfully in all cases but one: a highly accurate determination of the connection of a T-shaped footing. In this particular case, the inapplicability of the method was concluded after some preliminary simulations, thus avoiding unnecessary costs to the client. Performing simulations prior to the actual testing is recommended in dealing with all non-standard cases. Today, Parallel Seismic is the only method applicable on metallic and non metallic foundations which can be used without calibration. It has the largest range of all borehole methods. T3 - BAM Dissertationsreihe - 70 KW - Parallel-Seismik KW - Fundament KW - Inversion KW - Bohrpfahl KW - Längenbestimmung PY - 2011 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-883 SN - 978-3-9813853-5-9 SN - 1613-4249 VL - 70 SP - 1 EP - 221 PB - Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-88 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Buske, S. T1 - Geometry Determination of a Foundation Slab Using the Ultrasonic Echo Technique and Geophysical Migration Methods N2 - The ultrasonic echo technique is a frequently used method in non destructive testing for geometry Determination of concrete building elements. Important tasks are thickness measurements as well as the localization and characterization of built-in components and inhomogeneities. Currently mainly the synthetic aperture focusing family of techniques (SAFT) is used for imaging. These algorithms have difficulties in imaging steeply dipping interfaces and complicated structures such as steps and lower boundaries of voids. As an alternative two geophysical migration methods, pre-stack Kirchhoff depth migration and pre-stack Reversetimemigration (RTM)were tested in this paper at a reinforced concrete foundation slab. The slab consists of various reinforcement contents, different thicknesses and two pile heads. In a first step, both methods were evaluated with synthetic 2D data. In the second step, ultrasonic measurement data recorded with shear wave transducers on a line profile on the foundation slab were processed. The use of an automatic scanner simplified the measurements. A comparison of the geophysical migration results with those of SAFT shows, in particular for RTM, a significant improvement in the Imaging of the geometry of the foundation slab. Vertical borders were reconstructed and the location and structure of the lower boundary of the foundation slab were reproduced better. Limitations still exist in imaging the piles below the slab. KW - Kirchhoff migration KW - Ultrasonic echo technique KW - Synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) KW - Reverse-time migration PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-016-0334-z SN - 0195-9298 (Print) 1573-4862 (Online) VL - 2016/Band 1 IS - 35:1 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Springer CY - New York AN - OPUS4-35838 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Köpp, Christan T1 - Monitoring and digital tools for pre-disposal handling of cemented wastes N2 - Multifaceted developments for pre-disposal management of low and intermediate level radioactive waste are undertaken in the EC funded project PREDIS. In work package 7, innovations in cemented waste handling and pre-disposal storage are advanced by testing and evaluating. To provide better means for safe and effective monitoring of cemented waste packages including prediction tools to assess the future integrity development during pre-disposal activities, several monitoring and digital tools are evaluated and improved. Both safety enhancement (e. g. less exposure of testing personnel) and cost effectiveness are part of the intended impact. Current methods to pack, store, and monitor cemented wastes are identified, analysed and improved. Innovative integrity testing and monitoring techniques applied to evaluate and demonstrate package and storage quality assurance are further developed. The work includes but is not limited to inspection methods such as muon imaging, wireless sensors integrated into waste packages as well as external package and facility monitoring such as remote fiber optical sensors. The sensors applied will go beyond radiation monitoring and include proxy parameters important for long term integrity assessment (e. g. internal pressure). The measured data will be used in digital twins of the packages for specific simulations (geochemical, integrity) providing a prediction of future behaviour. Machine Learning techniques trained by the characterization of older packages will help to connect the models to the actual data. As data handling, processing and fusion are crucial for both the monitoring and the digital twin model, all data (measured and simulated) will be collected in a joint data base and connected to a decision framework. Finally, the implementation of the improved techniques will be tested at actual facilities. An overview about various relevant tools, their interconnections, and first research results will be shown. T2 - 9th IGD-TP Symposium CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 20.09.2022 KW - Predis KW - Monitoring KW - Sensors KW - Simulation KW - Digital twin PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55827 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Qualitätssicherung überschnittener Bohrpfahlwände mit der Ultraschallmethode am Beispiel der Schleuse Dörverden T2 - Bauwerksdiagnose 2012 an BAM Berlin, Praktische Anwendungen Zerstörungsfreier Prüfungen und Zukunftsaufgaben CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 2012-02-23 PY - 2012 AN - OPUS4-26887 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - TAILSAFE: Investigation and Improvement of Tailings Facilities T2 - NDT-CE 2003, International Symposium Non-Destructive Testing in Civil Engineering CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 2003-09-16 PY - 2003 AN - OPUS4-3827 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - TAILSAFE: Investigation and Improvement of Tailings Facilities T2 - XIIIth European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 2003-08-25 PY - 2003 AN - OPUS4-3833 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grohmann, Maria A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Büttner, Christoph A1 - Buske, Stefan T1 - Application of iterative elastic reverse time migration to shear horizontal ultrasonic echo data obtained at a concrete step specimen N2 - The ultrasonic echo technique is broadly applied in non‐destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures involving tasks such as measuring thickness, determining geometry and locating built‐in elements. To address the challenge of enhancing ultrasonic imaging for complex concrete constructions, we adapted a seismic imaging algorithm – reverse time migration (RTM) – for NDT in civil engineering. Unlike the traditionally applied synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT), RTM takes into account the full wavefield including primary and reflected arrivals as well as multiples. This capability enables RTM to effectively handle all wave phenomena, unlimited by changes in velocity and reflector inclinations. This paper concentrates on applying and evaluating a two‐dimensional elastic RTM algorithm that specifically addresses horizontally polarized shear (SH) waves only, as these are predominantly used in ultrasonic NDT of concrete structures. The elastic SH RTM algorithm was deployed for imaging real ultrasonic echo SH‐wave data obtained at a concrete specimen exhibiting a complex back wall geometry and containing four tendon ducts. As these features are frequently encountered in practical NDT scenarios, their precise imaging holds significant importance. By applying the elastic SH RTM algorithm, we successfully reproduced nearly all reflectors within the concrete specimen. In particular, we were capable of accurately reconstructing all vertically oriented reflectors as well as the circular cross sections of three tendon ducts, which was not achievable with traditional SAFT imaging. These findings demonstrate that elastic SH RTM holds the ability to considerably improve the imaging of complex concrete geometries, marking a crucial advancement for accurate, high‐quality ultrasonic NDT in civil engineering. KW - Engineering KW - Finite-Difference Time Domain KW - Non-Destructive KW - Seismic KW - Migration KW - Ultrasonic-Echo Technique PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-608744 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/nsg.12318 SN - 1569-4445 VL - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-60874 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bertola, N. A1 - Schumacher, T. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Bruehwiler, E. T1 - Early detection of structural damage in UHPFRC structures through the combination of acoustic emission and ultrasonic stress wave monitoring N2 - Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC) offers several advantages compared to concrete, notably due to the strain hardening behavior under tensile actions. Structures made of this composite material are lightweight and highly durable, thanks to the UHPFRC waterproofing quality. Nonetheless, the tensile behavior leads to a different cracking pattern than conventional concrete and is not fully understood yet. This paper presents a combined approach using both passive ultrasonic (US) stress wave (or acoustic emission) and active US stress wave monitoring to localize and quantify damage progression in a full-scale UHPFRC beam during experimental load testing. The proposed monitoring approach involves 24 US transducers that are embedded randomly throughout a 4.2- meter-long laboratory UHPFRC T-beam. Continuous monitoring enabled accurate localization of US stress sources caused by loading-induced cracking as well as from pulses generated by the embedded US transducers. This study shows that it is possible to predict the location and shape of the macro-crack that is linked to structural failure early on, i.e., just after the end of the elastic domain. This combined approach opens new possibilities to monitor the structural behavior and detect damage on UHPFRC structures before they affect the structural behavior in terms of deflection and strain. T2 - 11th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2024) CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 11.6.2024 KW - UHPFRC KW - Acoustic emission KW - Damage detection PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-604708 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ewshm2024/papers/477_manuscript.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.58286/29698 SN - 1435-4934 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-60470 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schumacher, T. A1 - Bertola, N. A1 - Epple, Niklas A1 - Bruehwiler, E. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Combined Passive and Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring of Concrete Structures: An Overview of Data Analysis Techniques and Their Applications and Limitations N2 - Combined passive ultrasonic (US) stress wave [better known as acoustic emission (AE)] and active US stress wave monitoring has been shown to provide a more holistic picture of ongoing fracture processes, damage progression, as well as slowly occurring aging and degradation mechanisms in concrete structures. Traditionally, different data analysis techniques have been used to analyze the data generated from these two monitoring techniques. For passive US stress wave monitoring, waveform amplitudes, hit rates, source localization, and b-value analysis, among others, have been used to detect and locate cracking. On the other hand, amplitude tracking, magnitude squared coherence (MSC), and coda wave interferometry (CWI) are examples of analyses that have been employed for active US stress wave monitoring. In this paper, we explore some of these data analysis techniques and show where their respective applications and limitations might be. After providing an overview of the monitoring approach and the different data analysis techniques, results and observations from selected laboratory experiments are discussed. Finally, suggestions for further work are proposed. T2 - 11th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2024) CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 11.06.2024 KW - Ultrasound KW - Acoustic emission KW - Concrete KW - Stress PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-604687 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ewshm2024/papers/824_manuscript.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.58286/29863 SN - 1435-4934 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-60468 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Skłodowska, Anna A1 - Baensch, Franziska A1 - Lay, Vera A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Kühne, Hans-Carsten T1 - Acoustic emission monitoring for engineered barriers in nuclear waste disposal N2 - To safely dispose of nuclear waste in underground facilities, engineered barrier systems are needed to seal shafts and galleries. The material used in these barriers must be adapted to the host rock parameters. Shrinking and cracking must be avoided to provide a barrier with almost zero permeability. For repositories in salt rock environments, several types of salt concrete (SC) are possible construction materials. Within the project SealWasteSafe, we compared the behavior of an innovative alkali-activated material (AAM) with standard SC in their hydration and hardening phase. To monitor the microstructural changes within the two materials SC and AAM, acoustic emission (AE) signals have been recorded for up to ~250 days on 340-litercubic specimens. The phenomenon of AE is defined as the emission of elastic waves in materials due to the release of localized internal energy. Such energy release can be caused by the nucleation of micro-fracture, e.g., in concrete while curing or when exposed to load. The occurrence of AE events gives first rough indications of microstructural changes and potentially occurring cracking and thus, provides insights for structural health monitoring (SHM). The results show, that for the first 28 days after casting, less AE activity was detected in the AAM compared to SC. After 61 days, in the AAM material, the number of AE events exceeded those observed in the SC. However, the majority of the AE detected and located in AAM was related to surface effects, and not to microstructural changes or occurring cracks within the bulk volume. Additionally, the source location analysis indicated, that despite lower activity in SC, we observed some clustering of the events. In contrast, in AAM, the activity inside the specimen is randomly distributed over the whole volume. The monitoring results help to estimate the material’s sealing properties which are crucial to assess their applicability as sealing material for engineered barriers. T2 - 11th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2024) CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 11.06.2024 KW - Endlager KW - Barriere KW - AAM KW - Akustische Emission PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-604699 UR - https://www.ndt.net/article/ewshm2024/papers/768_manuscript.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.58286/29834 SN - 1435-4934 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - NDT.net AN - OPUS4-60469 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Chapuzet, C. A1 - Ben Lagha, S. A1 - Zovini, C. A1 - Uras, S. A1 - Doupou, S. A1 - Köpp, Christian T1 - Assess potential technologies for implementation phase, considering cost-benefit ratio and availability (Technology Selection) N2 - Technology selection is an important part of the planning process when setting up a waste management programme. This continues to be crucial during implementation of the programme to evaluate if suitable technologies are being implemented. This Domain Insight document provides guidance on the assessment and selection of potential technologies for implementation during the pre-disposal phase of the waste management lifecycle, considering factors such as cost-benefit ratio and availability (EURAD Pre-disposal theme overview, domain 2.1.3, Technology Selection), as a part of the sub-theme “Planning pre-disposal management of radioactive waste in close cooperation with waste generators” (Planning) and, on the broader theme 2 “Pre-disposal Activities prior to geological disposal” (Pre-disposal). In the planning process for a waste management programme, it is critical for the waste owner to assess the feasibility of technologies for processing, storage, and monitoring, taking economic constraints into account and considering subsequent stages in the waste management lifecycle, including final disposal. In addition, technology selection must be based on the waste inventory that has been generated, planned waste stream composition and the evolution of resulting waste packages in storages. The accuracy, effectiveness and efficiency of the technologies deployed in a facility require periodic review and update, as needed, throughout the lifetime of the facility. KW - Radioactive waste KW - Management KW - Final disposal KW - Intermediate storage KW - Technology selection PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-608795 UR - https://predis-h2020.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/EURAD_PREDIS-DI-2.1.3.-Technology-selection.pdf SP - 1 EP - 16 AN - OPUS4-60879 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Maack, Stefan A1 - Küttenbaum, Stefan A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst ED - Rogge, Andreas ED - Meng, Birgit T1 - Baulicher IST-Zustand zur Bewertung von Betonbrücken auf der Grundlage messtechnischer Kennwerte - ZfPStatik N2 - Das Projekt „ZfPStatik“ entwickelt eine Handlungsempfehlung zur Bewertung bestehender Bauwerke mit Hilfe zerstörungsfreier Messdaten. Durch die Bauwerksprüfungen können Unsicherheiten bei der Nachrechnung reduziert werden, wodurch realistischere Beurteilungen der Standsicherheit und Gebrauchstauglichkeit ermöglicht werden. Zudem wird die Entwicklung neuer Ingenieurdienstleistungen gefördert. Zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren haben insgesamt das Potential, die Entscheidungsgrundlagen für die Beurteilung und Erhaltung bestehender Bauwerke zu verbessern. T2 - 11. Jahrestagung des DAfStb mit 63. Forschungskolloquium der BAM Green Intelligent Building CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 16.10.2024 KW - Betonbrücken KW - ZfPStatik KW - Bauwerksprüfungen PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-613290 SN - 978-3-9818564-7-7 SP - 303 EP - 308 PB - Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-61329 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Active and passive ultrasonic experiments with transducers embedded in concrete T2 - CARGESE summer School: "Passive Imaging and monitoring in wave physics: from seismology to ultrasound" CY - Cargese, France DA - 2015-05-11 PY - 2015 AN - OPUS4-34376 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stähler, S. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Pirskawetz, Stephan A1 - Nowak, Thomas Rudolf A1 - Weise, Frank ED - Sens-Schönfelder, Christoph ED - Ritter, Joachim ED - Wegler, Ulrich ED - Große, Christian T1 - Detection of subtle changes in materials by Coda Wave interferometry T2 - Noise and diffuse wavefields workshop CY - Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany DA - 2009-07-05 KW - Coda wave interferometry Beton KW - Schädigung KW - Ultraschall-Transmission PY - 2009 SN - 978-3-00-027952-2 SN - 0947-1944 VL - II SP - 59 EP - 61 AN - OPUS4-20574 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cotic, P. A1 - Jaglicic, Z. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Effner, Ute A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Trela, Christiane A1 - Bosiljkov, V. T1 - Effect of moisture on the reliability of void detection in brickwork masonry using radar, ultrasonic and complex resistivity tomography N2 - The influence of moisture on the reliability of detection of larger voids in brickwork masonry was investigated using three non-destructive techniques: radar, ultrasonic and complex resistivity (CR). Radar and ultrasonic travel time tomography, as well as CR tomography, were performed over a specific cross section of a specimen containing a large void at a known position to determine the influence of different levels of moisture content in the brickwork on the wave velocities and the CR magnitude. We defined a numerical estimator to quantitatively determine the void detection efficiency from the images obtained when exposing the specimen to moisture. The results showed radar to be the most reliable technique for void detection in both dry and wet masonry, while CR performed much better in detecting larger air voids in wet masonry. KW - Radar KW - Ultrasonic and complex resistivity KW - Tomography KW - Masonry KW - Moisture KW - Void detection KW - Ultrasound PY - 2013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-012-0011-3 SN - 1359-5997 SN - 1871-6873 VL - 46 IS - 10 SP - 1723 EP - 1735 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht AN - OPUS4-29991 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Bridge monitoring using embedded ultrasonics First results from the BLEIB reference structure N2 - The BLEIB reference structure The structure is a two-span, 24 m long inverse u-shaped post-tensioned concrete beam. Fibre optic sensing cables, RFID sensors and ultrasonic transducers are permanently embedded. Other sensing techniques (vibrational, optical, ultrasonic, mechanical) are applied externally. Tension can be adjusted. Loads can be placed at arbitrary locations. Limited damage is introduced to one span. The BLEIB reference structure is located at BAM‘s test site in Horstwalde, south of Berlin. Ultrasonic transducer before concreting. Embedded ultrasonic transducers 14 piezo transducers have been embedded before concreting. They are located in five sections, two close to the centers of both spans respectively and one above the central bearing. Load experiment and data evaluation In a first experiment load 2 (weight 2 t) was moved three times along the southern (right) span. The tension forces were modified as well. Ultrasonic transmission measurements were repeated over time and evaluated using Coda Wave Interferomerry (CWI), which determines correlation coefficients and relative velocity changes as subtle indicators for loads and other changes in the material. T2 - New mathematics for a safer world: wave propagation in heterogeneous materials CY - Edinburgh, UK DA - 12.06.2017 KW - Bridge monitoring KW - Ultrasound KW - Embedded transducers KW - Coda wave interferometry PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-40578 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Katzenbach, R. A1 - Klingmüller, O. A1 - Hillmann, S. A1 - Willmes, Michael T1 - REFUND: Untersuchung von Bestandsgründungen für eine Entscheidung zur Wiedernutzung T1 - REFUND: Investigation of existing foundations and decision making before re-use N2 - Vor einer geplanten Weiter- oder Wiedernutzung von Bestandsgründungen stellt sich die Frage nach deren Lage, Geometrie und Zustand im Untergrund. Hierfür gibt es verschiedene Prüfverfahren. Die Abläufe bei Planung und Prüfung sind jedoch bisher nicht standardisiert und die Möglichkeiten bzw. Grenzen der Prüfverfahren den Planern wenig bekannt. Im Forschungsprojekt REFUND (2014–2016) wurden unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Normen und des Stands der Technik Ablaufdiagramme für die Planung der Wiedernutzung sowie die Untersuchung des Bestands entwickelt. Dies geschah getrennt für Einzel- und Streifenfundamente, Platten und Pfähle. An zwei Praxisbeispielen wurden die Abläufe getestet und optimiert. Die Ergebnisse wurden in einem Handbuch zusammengefasst. Es soll Planer und andere Verantwortliche bei der wirtschaftlich und technisch optimierten Durchführung von Wiedernutzungsprojekten unterstützen. N2 - Before re-using existing foundations they have to be investigated for position, geometry and condition in the subsurface. The procedures and protocols haven't been standardized yet. Capabilities and limitations of appropriate testing methods are not known to all stakeholders. In the frame of the research project REFUND (2014-2016) we have developed decision trees for the planning and the investigation process, separately for single and strip foundations, slabs and piles. The protocols were tested in line with two actual projects. The results have been compiled in a handbook, which will support planners and other participants in a technical and economical optimized way to perform re-use of foundations. KW - Fundament KW - Wiedernutzung KW - Entscheidung KW - Zerstörungsfrei PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/bate.201700038 SN - 1437-0999 VL - 94 IS - 10 SP - 676 EP - 681 PB - Ernst & Sohn CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-42615 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wilsch, Gerd A1 - Goldschmidt, Sebastian A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Bienert, K. A1 - Schalk, H. A1 - Molkenthin, A. ED - Jacobsen, S. ED - Justnes, H. ED - Cepuritis, R. ED - Hornbostel, K. ED - Peng, Y. T1 - Quality control of hydrophobic coatings with an integrated marker element by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) N2 - Reinforced concrete structures are affected by damage caused e. g. by freeze-thaw effects or corrosion. Most damage processes are triggered by moisture transport including soluble substances. Hydrophobie coatings can be used for prevention of such damage, but quantitative on-site quality assurance methods are so far missing. A way to overcome this problem is to integrate marker substances into the coating, which can be detected by spectroscopic methods. Different types of marker elements have been tested. It can be shown that transition metals are best suited for the task. Currently a LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) System is developed for the measurement of penetration depth and content of the hydrophobic coating via the marker element in the peripheral zone of concrete. T2 - ICDC 2012 - International congress on durability of concrete CY - Trondheim, Norway DA - 18.06.2012 KW - Hydrophobic coating KW - Marker element KW - Quality control KW - Depth of penetration KW - Concrete repair KW - Pitting corrosion KW - Chloride KW - Exposure KW - Freeze-taw cycles KW - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy KW - Hydrophobierung KW - Laser Induced Breakdown Spektroskopie KW - Qualitätskontrolle PY - 2012 SN - 978-82-8208-031-6 SP - Session B 1, 1 EP - 14 AN - OPUS4-27527 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Taffe, Alexander T1 - Concept for a reference pile testing site for the development and improvement of NDT-CE N2 - Pile testing as a NDT-CE (non-destructive-testing in civil engineering) method provides information about the condition of foundations. It is also used as a tool for quality control. Real size test fields with sound piles, piles with flaws and piles connected with a foundation allow calibration of measurement devices and method comparison under "real" conditions. Such a site is planned on a BAM testing area south of Berlin. The joint use facilitates the establishment of the testing site as a national or European reference site. T2 - 6th International Symposium Non-Destructive Testing in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE) CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 2003-09-16 PY - 2003 UR - http://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce03/papers/v026/v026.htm SN - 3-931381-49-8 SP - 1 EP - 6(?) PB - DGZfP CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-2757 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ertel, Jens-Peter A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Grohmann, Maria T1 - Old ideas to improve pile integrity testing revisited and optimized N2 - Low strain pile integrity testing is an established method in QA of foundation piles. The technique is very effective and well accepted for larger flaws and length determination. It is part of standards and recommendations. Challenges exist for more complicated structures (e. g. pile walls, diaphragm walls, and pile under structures) and small flaws. Interpretation is subjective in many cases. Possible solutions, e.g. the use of vibrators instead of a hammer or application of several sensors instead of one have been proposed decades ago, but not used much in practice. In several projects we are working on the extension and optimizations of these ideas, based on input from other engineering disciplines. In the frame of the project PileInspect we are working with an international consortium on the use of vibrators instead of a hand held hammer. This allows the full control of input signals as well as the use of (semi)automatic classification routines from machine diagnosis. At BAM we are using a low cost vibrator and deconvolution routines to improve the results of classical low strain testing. In another project we are working on multichannel measurements with sensor placement along the pile axis. This can be used to determine the travel direction of certain waves (downwards or upwards) to improve the interpretation of measurements on piles below constructions or pile walls. The use of ideas adapted from geophysics („vertical seismic profiling“) are helpful. Both concepts are proven by simulations results and first field tests. T2 - NDT-CE 2015 - International symposium non-destructive testing in civil engineering CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 15.09.2015 KW - Pile inspect KW - Ultraseismic KW - Low strain pile integrity testing KW - Piles KW - Shaker KW - Deconvolution KW - Vertical seismic profiling PY - 2015 SN - 1435-4934 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-34716 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Helmerich, Rosemarie A1 - Streicher, Doreen A1 - Stoppel, Markus A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert ED - Forde, M. T1 - Automated non-destructive investigation of railway bridge condition T2 - 11th International Conference and Exhibiton "Structural Faults and Repair - 2006" CY - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK DA - 2006-06-13 KW - Non-Destructive Testing KW - Automated scanning device KW - Combination of methods KW - Ultrasonic-echo KW - Impact-echo KW - Impulse radar PY - 2006 SN - 0-947644-59-8 SP - 1 EP - 8(?) PB - Engineering Technics Pr., CY - Edingburgh AN - OPUS4-12530 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mark, Peter A1 - Sanio, David A1 - Balzani, Daniel A1 - Curoșu, Iurie A1 - Hafner, Annette A1 - König, Markus A1 - Kuhlenkötter, Bernd A1 - Thewes, Markus A1 - Baille, Wiebke A1 - Hackl, Klaus A1 - Hagedorn, Philipp A1 - Meschke, Günther A1 - Nestorović, Tamara A1 - Neu, Gerrit Emanuel A1 - Sauer, Roger A1 - Tafili, Merita A1 - Vogel, Andreas A1 - Weber, Sebastian A1 - Wichern, Marc A1 - Wichtmann, Torsten A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Freitag, Steffen A1 - Menges, Achim A1 - Simon, Sven T1 - Modulares Wiederverwenden von Bestandstragwerken T1 - Modular reuse of existing load-bearing structures N2 - Natürliche Prozesse laufen im Kreislauf ab. Auf Vergehen folgt gleichwertiges Entstehen. Solch ein Zirkularitätsprinzip ist im Tragwerksbau nicht verankert. Nach Nutzungsende werden Bauwerke abgebrochen, falls möglich zerlegt und recycelt. Besonders davon betroffen ist die Stahlbetonbauweise mit ihrem enormen Baubestand. Abbruch löst ein fatales Downcycling aus, mit minderwertigem Betoneinsatz als Schüttgut oder Deponierung. Selten besiegeln dabei Tragfähigkeitsdefizite das Nutzungsende, vielmehr sind Nutzungseinschränkungen oder baurechtliche Schranken ausschlaggebend. Die Folgen sind eine enorme Verschwendung an Ressourcen wie Sand oder Kies, Treibhausgasemission zur Aufbereitung und Abfall. Wiederverwenden (engl. reuse) bedeutet ein erneutes Nutzen von Stahlbeton als Bauteil (Modul). Nicht mehr genutzte Tragwerke werden dazu in die noch tragfähigen Anteile zerlegt, in ihren Eigenschaften charakterisiert, aufgearbeitet und baukastenartig zu neuen Tragwerken zusammengefügt. Es entsteht ein kreislauffähiges Modulsystem. Der Sonderforschungsbereich 1683 mit Sprecherschaft an der Ruhr‐Universität Bochum befasst sich mit dieser Art der modularen Wiederverwendung und erarbeitet Entwurfs‐ und Reparaturkonzepte für Tragwerke aus wiederverwendetem Stahlbeton, automatisierte Charakterisierungs‐ und Aufarbeitungsverfahren sowie Prozessmethoden für Logistik, Dekonstruktion und die Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung. Der Beitrag stellt die Konzepte und Demonstratoren möglicher Tragwerke vor. N2 - Natural processes run in cycles. On decay follows full regeneration. Such circularity is not yet rooted in the principles of structural engineering. At the end of service, buildings are demolished and, when feasible, disassembled for recycling. This also applies to reinforced concrete construction with its vast building stock. Demolition triggers a fatal downcycling process in which the concrete is used as bulk material or disposed of in a landfill. However, near the end of service, capacity deficits are seldom the key factor; utilization limits or construction regulations are decisive instead. The consequences are an enormous waste of resources, such as sand or gravel, greenhouse gas emissions from reprocessing and waste. Reuse means the repeated use of reinforced concrete as structural components (modules). No longer needed buildings are deconstructed into load-bearing elements, characterized, refurbished, and assembled into new modular structures, creating a circular modular system. The Collaborative Research Center 1683 at Ruhr University Bochum is a multidisciplinary cooperation addressing modular reuse. It develops design and repair concepts for load-bearing structures made of reused reinforced concrete, automated characterization and processing, and processes for logistics, deconstruction, and sustainability assessment. This paper presents early concepts and demonstrators of such envisaged structures. KW - Wiederverwendung KW - Kreislaufwirtschaft KW - Stahlbeton KW - Nachhaltigkeit KW - Modulares Bauen KW - Automatisierung KW - Reuse KW - Circular economy KW - Reinforced concrete KW - Sustainability KW - Modular construction KW - Automation PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/bate.70000 SN - 0932-8351 VL - 102 IS - 8 SP - 424 EP - 435 PB - Ernst & Sohn CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-64015 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Ertel, Jens-Peter A1 - Grohmann, Maria ED - Stahlmann, J. T1 - Low-Strain-Pfahlintegritätsprüfung reloaded: Geht nicht doch ein bisschen mehr? N2 - Die beiden in dieser Arbeit dargestellten Beispiele zeigen, dass sich die Low-strain-Pfahlintegritätsprüfung noch über den bisherigen, schon sehr erfolgreichen Stand hinaus entwickeln kann. Der Einsatz von Vibratortechnik und passender mathematischer Methoden bietet das Potential, Prüfungen auch unter bisher nicht lösbaren Randbedingungen durchzuführen. Dazu gehören sehr schlanke Pfähle und Messungen bei hohem Störpegel. Der erhöhte Mess- und Auswerteaufwand ist jedoch im Einzelfall gegenüber dem erzielbaren Erfolg abzugleichen. Apparativ müssen noch Entwicklungsarbeiten geleistet werden, um einen einfachen und zuverlässigen Einsatz in der Praxis zu ermöglichen. Die Messung mit mehreren Sensoren entlang des Pfahls kann schon heute in der Praxis eingesetzt werden. In vielen Fällen lassen sich damit auch Messungen an Pfählen im Bestand durchführen, bei denen die konventionelle Pfahlprüfung aufgrund von überlagernden Signalen aus der aufgehenden Struktur versagt. T2 - Pfahl-Symposium 2015 - Fachseminar CY - Braunschweig, Germany DA - 19.02.2015 KW - Pfahlprüfung KW - Integritätsprüfung KW - Vibrator KW - Mehrkanalmethode KW - Dekonvolution PY - 2015 SN - 3-927610-92-5 N1 - Serientitel: Mitteilung des Instituts für Grundbau und Bodenmechanik - Technische Universität Braunschweig – Series title: Mitteilung des Instituts für Grundbau und Bodenmechanik - Technische Universität Braunschweig IS - 99 SP - 117 EP - 135 PB - TU Braunschweig, Institut für Grundbau und Bodenmechanik AN - OPUS4-32643 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Measurement of Sheet Pile Length by Pile Integrity Testing and the Parallel Seismic Method T2 - Symposium on Engineering and Environmental Geophysics (SAGEEP) CY - Keystone, CO, USA DA - 2010-04-11 PY - 2010 AN - OPUS4-21166 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -