Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (81)
- Beitrag zu einem Tagungsband (21)
- Buchkapitel (1)
- Posterpräsentation (1)
Sprache
- Englisch (97)
- Deutsch (5)
- Mehrsprachig (1)
- Portugiesisch (1)
Referierte Publikation
- ja (104) (entfernen)
Schlagworte
- Concrete (104) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 8 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung (22)
- 7 Bauwerkssicherheit (21)
- 8.2 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfmethoden für das Bauwesen (18)
- 7.4 Baustofftechnologie (11)
- 7.1 Baustoffe (7)
- 8.5 Röntgenbildgebung (4)
- 7.3 Brandingenieurwesen (3)
- 7.7 Modellierung und Simulation (2)
- 8.0 Abteilungsleitung und andere (2)
- 1 Analytische Chemie; Referenzmaterialien (1)
Paper des Monats
- ja (5)
Esta pesquisa avaliou o fenômeno de autocicatrização nas propriedades mecânicas e absorção capilar de concretos estruturais. Foram avaliados dois aditivos cristalizantes em pó, dosados de acordo com o teor recomendado pelos fabricantes. Aditivos cristalizantes aumentam a densidade do gel C-S-H e formam cristais insolúveis, bloqueando fissuras. Três traços de concreto foram produzidos: referência, aditivo-X com 0,8% e aditivo-Y com 2,0% em relação a massa do cimento. Aplicou-se 75% da carga de ruptura aos 3- e 14-dias para gerar microfissuras e comparar com a referência. Posteriormente, a autocicatrização foi avaliada aos 28- e 76-dias. A propriedade de resistência à compressão axial foi determinada aos 28-dias, revelando que os aditivos cristalizantes contribuíram para um aumento médio de 12% desta propriedade. A idade do carregamento dos concretos não apresentou um impacto significativo na resistência à compressão axial, mas apontou resultados significativos entre os tipos de aditivos estudados, conforme ANOVA. As propriedades de absorção de água por capilaridade foram avaliadas aos 28- e 76-dias, indicando uma redução de absorção de água média de 42% devido ao uso dos aditivos cristalizantes. Em conclusão, a incorporação dos aditivos cristalizantes contribuiu de maneira positiva para a autocicatrização dos concretos estudados, indicando uma recuperação parcial das microfissuras.
Locating and sizing delaminations is a common inspection task in the maintenance and quality control of construction and rehabilitation. Their detection is an important area of application of nondestructive testing in civil engineering (NDT-CE). To improve this application, NDT test systems and test solutions must be compared, for which specimens containing well-defined delaminations are needed to serve as a reference. Currently, there are no widely accepted procedures available for creating such flaws locally and reproducibly. This study presents procedures for creating artificial delaminations repeatably and as close as possible to natural delaminations. To produce the discontinuities only substances were used which can occur in concrete components and do not affect the application of NDT-CE methods. Ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE) was used to test the flaws in the specimens. The delaminations were created by applying expansive mortar in prepared through holes. Three specimens with two delaminations each were built and tested using UPE.
Understanding the susceptibility to spalling of concrete members in case of fire is important to evaluate the residual load-bearing capacity. The investigations of the spalling phenomenon of a concrete mixture using real scale members are necessary but expensive to carry out. Reducing the specimen size leads to an increase of boundary effects that can result in a reduced spalling or absence of spalling. In this study, fire tests were carried out on unrestrained, single-sided exposed, cuboid shaped specimens (0.6 m x 0.6 m x 0.29 m) as well as unrestrained and steel ring restrained cylindrical specimens (Ø = 0.47 m, h = 0.29 m), which induce different boundary conditions. These fire tests were carried out on two ordinary concrete mixtures. The two mixtures differ only in the type of aggregates (quartz gravel and basalt grit) and were used to investigate the influence of the thermal expansion of the aggregate on the spalling behaviour of the concrete. The results show a significant increase of
the spalling depth due to the restrained thermal expansion achieved by the applied steel rings. Additionally, the type of aggregate has a direct influence on the spalling behaviour of a concrete mixture. The reduction of the boundary effects by the steel rings recreate the test conditions in the centre of a large concrete member. Thus, this type of specimen is suitable to determine the susceptibility to spalling of a material (screening-tests) as preliminary investigations to full scale fire tests.
The recommendation is based on the co-authors’ work organized by the RILEM TC 256-SPF “Spalling of concrete due to fire: testing and modelling”. It aims to provide useful information, guidance and best practices in fire spalling assessment to laboratories that perform large-scale tests based on fire resistance test standards. It provides guidance on the spalling observation techniques during testing, as well as post-test spalling quantification/assessment methods. This document is intended to be used in conjunction with the fire resistance test standards, e.g. EN 1363-1 and ISO 834-1.
Large-language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 caught the interest of many scientists. Recent studies suggested that these models could be useful in chemistry and materials science. To explore these possibilities, we organized a hackathon. This article chronicles the projects built as part of this hackathon. Participants employed LLMs for various applications, including predicting properties of molecules and materials, designing novel interfaces for tools, extracting knowledge from unstructured data, and developing new educational applications. The diverse topics and the fact that working prototypes could be generated in less than two days highlight that LLMs will profoundly impact the future of our fields. The rich collection of ideas and projects also indicates that the applications of LLMs are not limited to materials science and chemistry but offer potential benefits to a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Polymers that help tailoring rheological properties during the casting process have become inevitable constituents for all kinds of high-performance concrete technologies. Due to lacking industries, these typically crude-oil based admixtures are not readily available in many parts of the world, which limits the implementation of more sustainable high-performance construction technologies in these regions. Alternative polymers, which often demand for less processing, can be derived from local plant-based resources. The paper provides experimental data of flow tests of cement pastes with polysaccharides from Triumfetta pendrata A. Rich, acacia gum and cassava without and in the presence of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizer. The flow tests are amended by observations of the zeta potentials and the hydrodynamic diameters in the presence of and without calcium ions in the dispersion medium. The results show that in the presence of and without calcium ions all polysaccharides provide negative zeta potentials, yet, they affect flowability and thixotropy in different ways. Cassava starch, acacia gum, and the gum of Triumfetta pendrata A. Rich qualified well for robustness improvement, strong stiffening, and additive manufacturing, respectively. The reason for the different effects can be found in their average sizes and size distribution. Due to the promising results, a flow chart for local value chains is derived on the example of yet unused cassava wastes, which can be converted in parallel.
The bond between polymer fibers and the surrounding cementitious matrix is essential for the development of concrete reinforcement. The single fiber pull-out test (SFPT) is the standard characterization technique for testing the bond strength. However, the different phases of debonding cannot be distinguished by the SFPT. This study investigates the debonding of different polymer fibers from the surrounding cementitious matrix with a modified SFPT and proposes methods to change the SFPT setup to generate more valuable information on the debonding mechanism. The SFPT was equipped with linear variable differential transformers (LVDT), digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) analysis. The results demonstrate that the modified SFPT allows a better understanding of the different phases of debonding during fiber pull-out. Furthermore, bond strength values calculated by different methods reveal that the chemical bond of the investigated polymers is not different as reported by previous studies. Deformation measurements performed using LVDTs and DIC are suitable measuring techniques to characterize the debonding mechanism in SFPT. A correlation between recorded AE and debonding phases was not found.
Materials that support natural biodiversity on their surfaces can compensate for human activities that have a negative impact on nature and thus contribute to a carbon-neutral and nature-positive world. Specifically designing bioreceptive materials which favor the growth of biofilms on their surface is an approach complementing conventional, macroscopic green façades. But what exactly characterizes a bioreceptive substrate and how do biofilm and substrate interact? How and why does a spontaneous colonization and the formation of biofilms take place? What are biofilms and how can they be established in a laboratory setting? How can this existing knowledge be transferred to the artificial stone concrete so that this material can be tuned to increase (or decrease) its bioreceptivity?
This review paper aims at summarizing the existing state of knowledge on bioreceptive concrete and pointing out inconsistencies and contradictions which can only be removed by more interdisciplinary research in the field.
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.
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.
Application of electrochemical methods for studying steel corrosion in alkali-activated materials
(2023)
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) are binders that can complement and partially substitute the current use of conventional cement. However, the present knowledge about how AAMs protect steel reinforcement in concrete elements is incomplete, and uncertainties exist regarding the application of electrochemical methods to investigate this issue. The present review by EFC WP11-Task Force ‘Corrosion of steel in alkali-activated materials’ demonstrates that important differences exist between AAMs and Portland cement, and between different classes of AAMs, which are mainly caused by differing pore solution compositions, and which affect the outcomes of electrochemical measurements. The high sulfide concentrations in blast furnace slag-based AAMs lead to distinct anodic polarisation curves, unusually low open circuit potentials, and low polarisation resistances, which might be incorrectly interpreted as indicating active corrosion of steel reinforcement. No systematic study of the influence of the steel–concrete interface on the susceptibility of steel to corrosion in AAMs is available. Less common electrochemical methods present an opportunity for future progress in the field.
The current understanding of the carbonation of alkali-activated concretes is ham-pered inter alia by the wide range of binder chemistries used. To overcome some of the limitations of individual studies and to identify general correlations between their mix design parameters and carbonation resistance, the RILEM TC 281-CCC working group 6 compiled carbonation data for alkali-activated concretes and mortars from the literature. For comparison purposes, data for blended Portland cement-based concretes with a high percentage of SCMs (≥ 66 % of the binder) were also included in the database. A preliminary analysis of the database indicates that w/CaO ratio and w/b ratio exert an influence on the carbonation resistance of alkali-activated concretes but, contrary to what has been reported for concretes based on (blended) Portland cements, these are not good indicators of their carbonation resistance when considered individually. A better indicator of the carbonation resistance of alkali-activated concretes under conditions approxi-mating natural carbonation appears to be their w/(CaO + Na2O + K2O) ratio. Furthermore, the analysis points to significant shortcomings of tests at elevated CO2 concentrations for low-Ca alkali-activated concretes, indicating that even at a concentration of 1 % CO2, the outcomes may lead to inaccurate predictions of the carbonation coefficient under natural exposure conditions.
Validation of novel ultrasonic phased array borehole probe by using simulation and measurement
(2022)
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.
Hydration is the exothermic reaction between anhydrous cement and water, which forms the solid cement matrix of concrete. Being able to evaluate the hydration is of high interest for the use of both conventional and more climate-friendly building materials. The experimental monitoring is based on temperature or moisture measurements. The first needs adiabatic conditions, which can only be achieved in laboratory. The latter is often measured comparing the weight of the material sample before and after oven drying, which is time-consuming. This study investigates the moisture content of two cement-based and two calcium sulphate based mixtures for the first 90 days by using the calcium carbide method and oven drying at 40 °C and 105 °C (Darr method). Thereby, the amount of chemically bound water is determined to derive the degree of hydration. The calcium carbide measurements highly coincide with oven drying at 40 °C. The calcium carbide method is therefore evaluated as a suitable alternative to the time-consuming Darr drying. The prompt results are seen as a remarkable advantage and can be obtained easily in laboratory as well as in the field.
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.
The size effect has its origin in fracture mechanics and describes the formation as well as propagation of cracks in brittle and solid materials in dependence of the specimen size. However, the size effect in concrete spalling describes the damage behaviour on a macroscopic scale for different sized specimens in case of fire. Concrete spalling is a very complex and yet not fully understood phenomenon. To reduce the effort of fire tests to analyse the spalling behaviour of concrete mixtures, this study investigates the susceptibility to spalling for six different concrete mixtures and three specimen sizes. The sizes were divided in full scale slabs (1.8 m x 1.2 m x 0.3 m), intermediate scale cuboids (0.6 m x 0.6 m x 0.3 m) and small scale cylinders (Ø0.15 m x 0.3 m). For this purpose, a novel test set-up was built to test six intermediate scale or twelve small scale specimens simultaneously to ensure a similar heating regime for every specimen. All specimens were fire exposed on one side and remained unrestrained. A size effect occurred for four of the six concrete mixtures. Compared to the full scale specimens the spalling was reduced significantly for all smaller specimen sizes. Additionally, spalling did not occur for the small scale specimens. The results show that the specimen size is an essential parameter to investigate the susceptibility to spalling of a concrete mixture. For future investigations the testing conditions must be adjusted for the intermediate scale specimens to recreate the conditions of the slabs.
During their life span, concrete structures interact with many kinds of external mechanical loads. Most of these loads are considered in advance and result in reversible deformations. Nevertheless, some of the loads cause irreversible, sometimes unnoticed changes below the macroscopic scale depending on the type and dimension of the impact. As the functionality of concrete structures is often relevant to safety and society, their condition must be known and, therefore, assessed on a regular basis. Out of the spectrum of non-destructive monitoring methods, Coda Wave Interferometry using embedded ultrasonic sensors is one particularly sensitive technique to evaluate changes to heterogeneous media. However, there are various influences on Coda waves in concrete, and the interpretation of their superimposed effect is ambiguous. In this study, we quantify the relations of uniaxial compression and uniaxial tension on Coda waves propagating in normal concrete. We found that both the signal correlation of ultrasonic signals as well as their velocity variation directly reflect the stress change in concrete structures in a laboratory environment. For the linear elastic range up to 30% of the strength, we calculated a velocity variation of −0.97‰/MPa for compression and 0.33%/MPa for tension using linear regression. In addition, these parameters revealed even weak irreversible changes after removal of the load. Furthermore, we show the time-dependent effects of shrinkage and creep on Coda waves by providing the development of the signal parameters over time during half a year together with creep recovery. Our observations showed that time-dependent material changes must be taken into account for any comparison of ultrasonic signals that are far apart in time. The study’s results demonstrate how Coda Wave Interferometry is capable of monitoring stress changes and detecting even small-size microstructural changes. By indicating the stated relations and their separation from further impacts, e.g., temperature and moisture, we anticipate our study to contribute to the qualification of Coda Wave Interferometry for its application as an early-warning system for concrete structures.
Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a chemical reaction within concrete which can lead over time to cracking and spalling. Due to the complexity of the problem, it still causes damage to concrete constructions worldwide.
The publication aims to illustrate the interdisciplinary research of the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) within the last 20 years, considering all aspects of ASR topics from the macro to the micro level. First, methods for characterization and assessment of ASR risks and reaction products used at BAM are explained and classified in the international context. Subsequently the added value of the research approach by combining different, preferably nondestructive, methods across all scales is explained using specific examples from a variety of research projects. Aspects covered range from the development of new test-setups to assess aggregate reactivity, to analysis of microstructure and reaction products using microscopical, spectroscopical and X-ray methods, to the development of a testing methodology for existing concrete pavements including in-depth analysis of the visual damage indicator and the de-icing salt input using innovative testing techniques. Finally, research regarding a novel avoidance strategy that makes use of internal hydrophobization of the concrete mix is presented.
The knowledge of the thermal parameters of a particular concrete is essential for thermal design of a building, but also could help to identify and assess the state of a concrete structure. Active thermography has the potential to be applied onsite and to provide a fast investigation of thermal properties. In this work, three different concrete samples were investigated by active thermography in reflection and in transmission setup. It was found that this method yields the same results without direct contact as the Transient Plane Source (TPS) method as an established inspection tool.
The fatigue process of concrete under compressive cyclic loading is still not completely explored. The corresponding damage processes within the material structure are especially not entirely investigated. The application of acoustic measurement methods enables a better insight into the processes of the fatigue in concrete. Normal strength concrete was investigated under compressive cyclic loading with regard to the fatigue process by using acoustic methods in combination with other nondestructive measurement methods. Acoustic emission and ultrasonic signal measurements were applied together with measurements of strains, elastic modulus, and static strength. It was possible to determine the anisotropic character of the fatigue damage caused by uniaxial loading based on the ultrasonic measurements. Furthermore, it was observed that the fatigue damage seems to consist not exclusively of load parallel oriented crack structures. Rather, crack structures perpendicular to the load as well as local compacting are likely components of the fatigue damage. Additionally, the ultrasonic velocity appears to be a good indicator for fatigue damage beside the elastic modulus. It can be concluded that acoustic methods allow an observation of the fatigue process in concrete and a better understanding, especially in combination with further measurement methods.
Ultrasonic monitoring, making use of the sensitivity of the coda of repeated transmission meas-urements to changes in stress, temperature, moisture, as well as localized or distributed damage, has gotten at-tention in structural health monitoring (SHM) research recently. Analysis methods such as coda wave inter-ferometry (CWI), including its nonlinear extension, have been shown to be able to measure ultrasonic wave velocity changes with a 1∙10-5 resolution, while indicators such as cross-correlation or cross-coherence have been used to distinguish between reversible and irreversible changes. Several small- and large-scale laboratory experiments have demonstrated that stress changes in structures can be captured or damage detected in a very early stage. The use of this technique for pre-warning before failure are currently under investigation, as well as detailed research on the physical causes and the connection between ultrasonic wave properties and materi-al/structural behavior. Recently, several of large-scale laboratory and real structures have been instrumented with embedded ultrasonic transducers to gather experience and evidence on how to use this technology in re-al-world applications. Preliminary results from installations on a new bridge, an existing bridge, a tunnel, a la-boratory earthquake test as well as a historic stadium in Germany, Poland, and the United States, respectively, are presented. Environmental influences (mainly temperature) and validation by load tests are discussed.
The increasingly sophisticated nature of modern, more environmentally friendly cementitious binders requires a better understanding and control particularly of the complex, dynamic processes involved in the early phase of cement hydration. In-situ monitoring of properties of a constantly changing system over a defined period of time calls for simple, sensitive, fast, and preferably also non-invasive methods like optical spectroscopy
A three-phase transport model for high-temperature concrete simulations validated with X-ray CT data
(2021)
Concrete exposure to high temperatures induces thermo-hygral phenomena, causing water phase changes, buildup of pore pressure and vulnerability to spalling. In order to predict these phenomena under various conditions, a three-phase transport model is proposed. The model is validated on X-ray CT data up to 320 ◦C, showing good agreement of the temperature profiles and moisture changes. A dehydration description, traditionally derived from thermogravimetric analysis, was replaced by a formulation based on data from neutron radiography. In addition, treating porosity and dehydration evolution as independent processes, previous approaches do not fulfil the solid mass balance. As a consequence, a new formulation is proposed that introduces the porosity as an independent variable, ensuring the latter condition.
The thermal gravimetric analysis (TG) is a common method for the examination of the carbonation progress of cement-based materials. Unfortunately, the thermal properties of some components complicate the evaluation of TG results. Various hydrate phases, like ettringite (AFt), C-S-H and AFm decompose almost simultaneously in the temperature range up to 200 °C. Additionally, physical bound water is released in the same temperature range. In the temperature range between 450 °C and 600 °C the decomposition of calcium hydroxide and amorphous or weakly bound carbonates takes place simultaneously. Carbonates, like calcite, from limestone powder or other additives may be already contained in the noncarbonated sample material. For this research an attempt was made to minimise the influence of these effects. Therefore, differential curves from DTG-results of non-carbonated areas and areas with various states of carbonation of the same sample material were calculated and evaluated. Concretes based on three different types of cement were produced and stored under accelerated carbonation conditions (1 % CO2 in air). The required sample material was obtained by cutting slices from various depth of previously CO2-treated specimen and subsequent grinding. During the sample preparation, a special attention was paid that no additional carbonation processes took place. As reference method for the determination of the carbonation depth the sprayed application of phenolphthalein solution was carried out. Microscopic analysis where examined to confirm the assumptions made previously. Furthermore, the observed effect of encapsulation of calcium hydroxide by carbonates caused by the accelerated carbonation conditions was examined more closely.
Muon Tomography of the Interior of a Reinforced Concrete Block: First Experimental Proof of Concept
(2021)
Quality assurance and condition assessment of concrete structures is an important topic world-wide due to the aging infrastructure and increasing traffic demands. Common topics include, but are not limited to, localisation of rebar or tendon ducts, geometrical irregularities, cracks, voids, honeycombing or other flaws. Non-destructive techniques 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 up new fields of application, such as the investigation of freight containers. Muon imaging also has the potential to fill some of the gaps currently existing in concrete NDT. As a first step towards practical use 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. The data acquisition takes more time and signals contain more noise, but the images allowed to detect the same important features that are visible in conventional high energy X-ray tomography. In our experiment, we have shown that muon imaging has potential for concrete inspection. The next steps include the development of mobile detectors and optimising acquisition and imaging parameters.
Air-coupled ultrasonic testing is widely used in the industry for the non-destructive testing of compound materials. It provides a fast and efficient way to inspect large concrete civil infrastructures for damage that might lead to catastrophic failure. Due to the large penetration depths required for concrete structures, the use of traditional piezoelectric transducer requires high power electric systems. In this study, a novel fluidic transducer based on a bistable fluidic amplifier is investigated. Previous experiments have shown that the switching action of the device produces a high-power broadband ultrasonic signal. This study will provide further insight into the switching behaviour of the fluidic switch. Therefore, parametric CFD simulations based on compressible supersonic RANS simulations were performed, varying the inlet pressure and velocity profiles for the control flow. Switching times are analyzed with different methods, and it was found that These are mostly independent of the slope of the velocity profile at the control port. Furthermore, it was found that an inversely proportional relationship exists between flow velocity in the throat and the switching time. The results agree with the theoretical background established by experimental studies that can be found in the literature.
This paper summarizes the results of research aimed at assessing cracks in reinforced concrete structures using embedded ultrasonic sensors. The diffuse ultrasonic waves were considered to evaluate the health status of the tested structures. There are different algorithms used to detect cracks in the structure, but most studies have been performed on benchmark reinforced concrete (RC) structures and in laboratory conditions. Since there were difficulties with the validity of Damage detection in real structures in the presence of environmental changes and noises, the application of advanced signal processing methods was necessary. Therefore, the wavelet transform was applied to process ultrasonic signals acquired from multiple civil structures. It is shown that the ultrasonic sensors with an applied wavelet transform algorithm on collected signals can successfully detect cracks in the laboratory as well as in a real environment. Experimental results showed a perfect match for detecting damage and quasi-static load in the presence of environmental changes. The results were confirmed with other techniques. In addition, designing an extra filter for removing noises can be avoided by using the applied algorithms. The obtained results confirmed that diffuse ultrasonic sensor methodology with the proposed algorithm is useful and effective in Monitoring real RC structures, and it is better than traditional techniques.
With a goal to improve our understanding of the relationships between microstructural features and ultrasonic signal behavior, concrete specimens of varying water-to-cement ratio were imaged using X-ray computed tomography (CT), and subsequently subjected to ultrasonic testing. From the CT scans, measurements were made of cement paste density and number of interfaces. Ultrasonic signals produced using a through-transmission configuration were analyzed and fit to a diffusion model to separate absorption from scattering attenuation. The results showed that at the frequencies tested, ultrasonic dissipation rate correlated weakly with paste density, while diffusivity correlated well with number of interfaces, but only if entrained air is considered separately. Cement paste density was found to be very well predicted by diffusivity, leading to a clear power-law relationship between diffusivity and compressive strength.
Reinforced concrete bridges are iconic parts of modern infrastructure. They are designed for a minimum service life of 100 years. However, environmental factors and/or inappropriate use might cause overload and accelerate the deterioration of bridges. In extreme cases, bridges could collapse when necessary maintenance lacks. Thus, the permanent monitoring for structure health assessment has been proposed, which is the aim of structural health monitoring (SHM). Studies in laboratories have shown that ultrasonic (US) coda wave interferometry (CWI) using diffuse waves has high sensitivity and reliability to detect subtle changes in concrete structures. The creation of micro-cracks might be recognized at an early stage. Moreover, large-volume structures can be monitored with a relatively small number of US transducers. However, it is still a challenge to implement the CWI method in real SHM practical applications in an outdoor environment because of the complex external factors, such as various noise sources that interfere with the recorded signals. In this paper, monitoring data from a 36-m long bridge girder in Gliwice, Poland, instrumented with embedded US transducers, thermistors, and vibrating wire strain gauges, is presented. Noise estimation and reductionmethods are discussed, and the influence of traffic, as well as temperature variation, are studied. As a result, the relative velocity variation of US waves following the temperature change with a very high precision of 10−4% is shown, and a good bridge health condition is inferred. The influence of lightweight real traffic is negligible. The study verified the feasibility of the implementation of the CWI method on real bridge structures.
The goal of the Special Issue “Brittle Materials in Mechanical Extremes” was to spark a discussion of the analogies and the differences between different brittle materials, such as, for instance, ceramics and concrete. Indeed, the contributions to the Issue spanned from construction materials (asphalt and concrete) to structural ceramics, reaching as far as ice. The data shown in the issue were obtained by advanced microstructural techniques (microscopy, 3D imaging, etc.) and linked to mechanical properties (and their changes as a function of aging, composition, etc.). The description of the mechanical behavior of brittle materials under operational loads, for instance, concrete and ceramics under very high temperatures, offered an unconventional viewpoint on the behavior of brittle materials. This is not at all exhaustive, but a way to pave the road for intriguing and enriching comparisons.
Due to the high sensitivity of coda waves to the smallest structural alterations such as strain, humidity or temperature changes, ultrasonic waves are a valid means to examine entire structures employing networks of ultrasonic transducers. In order to substantiate this ex ante assessment, the viability of measuring ultrasonic waves as a valid point of reference and inference for structural changes is to be further scrutinized in this work. In order to investigate the influence of mechanical strain on ultrasonic signals, a four-point bending test was carried out on a reinforced concrete beam at Ruhr University Bochum. Thus, measurements collected from a network of selected transducer pairings arranged across the central, shear-free segment of the test specimen, were correlated to their respective strain fields. Detected ultrasonic signals were evaluated employing Coda Wave Interferometry. Such analysis comprised the initial non-cracked state as well as later stages with incremental crack depth and quantity. It was to ascertain that the test specimen can in fact be qualitatively compartmentalized into areas of compression and tension identified via Relative Velocity Changes presented in Attribute Maps. However, since results did not entail a zero crossing, i.e., neither positive nor negative values were to be calculated, only relative changes in this work displayed staggered over the height of the object under test, are discussed. Under the given methodological premises, additional information is currently required to make quantitative assertions regarding this correlation of ultrasonic and strain results. This holds true for the comparability of the ultrasonic and strain results for both non-cracked and even the cracked state.
Literature data on the influence of concrete cracks on corrosion propagation of reinforcing steel are contradictory. This might be due to very different exposure and test conditions but also to a lack of time-resolved data in cyclic wetting–drying exposure. Here, the influence of the environmental conditions on the corrosion rates in cracked concrete is studied experimentally. The results show that the corrosion rate in cracked concrete depends on the duration of wetting and drying phases and the relative humidity (RH) during the drying phase. The lower the ambient RH in the drying phase, the faster the cracks dry, which depresses the corrosion rate in the periods between the wetting events. A model is proposed to estimate corrosion rates in cracked concrete cyclic wetting/drying exposure.
The most common method for determination of the carbonation depth is the sprayed application of indicator solutions, Phenolphthalein in particular. Since the aerosols of Phenolphthalein are suspected to be carcinogenic, efforts have been intensified to use alternative indicators for the determination of carbonation depth. The subject and aim of this research paper are to examine indicator solutions from Alizarin Yellow R, Thymol Blue and a Mixed Indicator. These indicator solutions are commercially available and are not suspected to be carcinogenic.
For the purpose of this research, samples previously stored under accelerated carbonation conditions (1% CO2) were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and examination of the pH value. Additionally, the electrolytic back-titration for determination of total CO2 amount was carried out comparatively to TGA.
Many standardised durability testing methods have been developed for Portland cement-based concretes, but require validation to determine whether they are also applicable to alkali-activated materials. To address this question, RILEM TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ carried out round robin testing of carbonation and chloride penetration test methods, applied to five different alkali-activated concretes based on fly ash, blast furnace slag or metakaolin. The methods appeared overall to demonstrate an intrinsic precision comparable to their precision when applied to conventional concretes. The ranking of test outcomes for pairs of concretes of similar binder chemistry was satisfactory, but rankings were not always reliable when comparing alkali-activated concretes based on different precursors. Accelerated carbonation testing gave similar results for fly ash-based and blast furnace slag-based alkali-activated concretes, whereas natural carbonation testing did not. Carbonation of concrete specimens was observed to have occurred already during curing, which has implications for extrapolation of carbonation testing results to longer service life periods. Accelerated chloride penetration testing according to NT BUILD 443 ranked the tested concretes consistently, while this was not the case for the rapid chloride migration test. Both of these chloride penetration testing methods exhibited comparatively low precision when applied to blast furnace slag-based concretes which are more resistant to chloride ingress than the other materials tested.
The aim of RILEM TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ is to identify and validate methodologies for testing the durability of alkali-activated concretes. To underpin the durability testing work of this committee, five alkali-activated concrete mixes were developed based on blast furnace slag, fly ash, and flash-calcined metakaolin. The concretes were designed with different intended performance levels, aiming to assess the capability of test methods to discriminate between concretes on this basis. A total of fifteen laboratories worldwide participated in this round robin test programme, where all concretes were produced with the same mix designs, from single-source aluminosilicate precursors and locally available aggregates. This paper reports the mix designs tested, and the compressive strength results obtained, including critical insight into reasons for the observed variability in strength within and between laboratories.
Lifetime aspects including fatigue failure of concrete structures were traditionally only of minor importance. Because of the growing interest in maxing out the capacities of concrete, its fatigue failure under compression has become an issue. A variety of interacting phenomena such as e.g. loss of prestress, degradation due to chemical reactions or creep and shrinkage influence the fatigue resistance. Failure due to cyclic loads is generally not instantaneous, but characterized by a steady damage accumulation. Therefore, a reliable numerical model to predict the performance of concrete over its lifetime is required, which accurately captures order effects and full three-dimensional stress states.
Many constitutive models for concrete are currently available, which are applicable for specific loading regimes, different time scales and different resolution scales.
However, a key limitation of those models is that they generally do not address issues related to fatigue on a structural level. Very few models can be found in the literature that reproduce deterioration of concrete under repeated loading-unloading cycles. This is due to the computational effort necessary to explicitly resolve every cycle which exceeds the currently available computational resources. The limitation can only be overcome by the application of multiscale methods in time.
The objective of the paper is the development of numerical methods for the simulation of concrete under fatigue loading using temporal multiscale methods.
First, a continuum damage model for concrete is developed with a focus on fatigue under compressive stresses [1]. This includes the possibility to model stress redistributions and capture size effects. In contrast to cycle based approaches, where damage is accumulated based on the number of full stress cycles, a strain based approach is developed that can capture cyclic degradation under variable loading cycles including different amplitudes and loading frequencies. The model is designed to represent failure under static loading as a particular case of fatigue failure after a single loading cycle. As a consequence, most of the material parameters can be deduced from static tests. Only a limit set of additional constitutive parameters is required to accurately describe the evolution under fatigue loading. Another advantage of the proposed model is the possibility to directly incorporate other multi-physics effects such as creep and shrinkage or thermal loading on the constitutive level.
Second, a multiscale approach in time is presented to enable structural computations of fatigue failure with a reduced computational effort. The damage rate within the short time scale corresponding to a single cycle is computed based on a Fourier based approach [2]. This evolution equation is then solved on the long time scale using different implicit and explicit time integration schemes. Their performance and some limitations for specific loading regimes is discussed.
Finally, the developed methods will be validated and compared to experimental data.
[1] Vitaliy Kindrachuk, Marc Thiele, Jörg F. Unger. Constitutive modeling of creep-fatigue interaction for normal strength concrete under compression, International Journal of Fatigue, 78:81-94, 2015
[2] Vitaliy Kindrachuk, Jörg F. Unger. A Fourier transformation-based temporal integration scheme for viscoplastic solids subjected to fatigue deterioration, International Journal of Fatigue, 100:215-228, 2017
In earthquake-prone regions such as the Pacific Northwest, damage assessment tools are needed to enable safety evaluations to support recovery. Currently, damage assessment is performed primarily by visual inspection and is often impossible for structural members that are inaccessible, such as deep foundations or interior members hidden by cladding. This study explores the possibility of using embedded ultrasonic transducers to monitor reinforced concrete members for damage progression under earthquake loading. A novel methodology is proposed where changes in the member condition due to an increase in the earthquake-type loading of a full-scale column-foundation specimen are correlated with changes in the recorded ultrasonic waveforms. The discussed preliminary analysis of the ultrasonic signals is based on wave propagation velocity, changes in the coda wave portion, and maximum amplitude of the signals. Three embedded transducers were used to continuously monitor the laboratory specimen during destructive testing. This paper provides an overview of the proposed methodology, outlines the laboratory experiment, and discusses some preliminary observations.
Structural design and application have always been linked to the compressive strength of concrete as the main relevant criterion. This was justifiable in the past, where concrete consisted of water, ordinary Portland cement and aggregates, but this concept is no longer relevant for modern and more sustainable cement and concrete.
Despite these new developments, existing standards, guidelines and academic curricula have not been much updated and are still used worldwide. There is a need to change this situation by proper education of the users.
This overview describes the challenges that arise at a user Level from the higher complexity of modern concrete, and defines needs and requirements for enhanced applicability of sustainable concrete concepts.
Furthermore, recommendations are given on how better concrete practice can be communicated to all the involved parties, from civil and design engineers to constructors and site-appliers on the construction site.
This paper describes a novel methodology for quantitative in-situ moisture measurement without tracking agents using X-ray computed tomography (XCT). The high levels of grey-scale precision required for the measurement of moisture without tracking agents resulted in the need for an additional image calibration procedure to correct for water-related X-ray scattering and for equipment-variability related artefacts arising during in-situ testing. This calibration procedure was developed on the basis of existing principles of XCT image cor-rection. Resulting images of moisture distribution exhibit a high level of agreement with expected material behaviour. This research demonstrated that XCT can be successfully used to measure both moisture-front movement over time and changes in 3D moisture distribution within samples. This approach to moisture measurement lays the groundwork for the planned future investigation of the interaction between cracking induced by varying chemical and mechanical processes and water transport in concrete.
This paper presents a probabilistic methodology based on the thermo-mechanical finite elements analysis to investigate the impact of the variability of the thermal properties of the concrete in the fire safety of structures. This is meant to evaluate if characteristic values or safety factors for the conductivity and specific heat are required during the semi-probabilistic structural fire safety assessment. To illustrate the use of the proposed methodology, this work includes a case-study with a tunnel lining which considers the uncertainties related to the thermal and mechanical properties of the concrete, the soil load, and the temperatures described by the standard temperature-time curve. Two failure criteria are considered: one was the maximum temperature of 300 °C at the reinforcement and the other based on the temperature-dependent strength as provided in the Eurocode EN 1992-1-2. Several finite element analyses are performed. The design of experiments is executed by a Correlation Latin Hypercube Sampling. The calculated probability of failure has different values depending on the adopted failure criteria. A sensitivity analysis using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was carried out and demonstrates that the uncertainty related to the specific heat has the greatest impact on the results.
Reliability assessment of existing bridge constructions based on results of non-destructive testing
(2018)
The non-destructive testing methods available for civil engineering (NDT-CE) enable the measurements of quantitative parameters, which realistically describe the characteristics of existing buildings. In the past, methods for quality evaluation and concepts for validation expanded into NDT-CE to improve the objectivity of measured data. Thereby, a metrological foundation was developed to collect statistically sound and structurally relevant information about the inner construction of structures without destructive interventions. More recently, the demand for recalculations of structural safety was identified. This paper summarizes a basic research study on structural analyses of bridges in combination with NDT. The aim is to use measurement data of nondestructive testing methods as stochastic quantities in static calculations. Therefore, a methodical interface between the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement and probabilistic approximation procedures (e.g. FORM) has been proven to be suitable. The motivation is to relate the scientific approach of the structural analysis with real information coming from existing structures and not with those found in the literature. A case study about the probabilistic bending proof of a reinforced concrete bridge with statistically verified data from ultrasonic measurements shows that the measuring results fulfil the requirements concerning precision, trueness, objectivity and reliability.
Processing ultrasonic data by coda wave interferometry to monitor load tests of concrete beams
(2018)
Ultrasonic transmission measurements have been used for decades to monitor concrete elements, mostly on a laboratory scale. Recently, coda wave interferometry (CWI), a technique adapted from seismology, was introduced to civil engineering experiments. It can be used to reveal subtle changes in concrete laboratory samples and even large structural elements without having a transducer directly at the place where the change is taking place. Here, several load tests until failure on large posttensioned concrete beams have been monitored using networks of embedded transducers. To detect subtle effects at the beginning of the experiments and cope with severe changes due to cracking close to failure, the coda wave interferometry procedures had to be modified to an adapted step-wise approach. Using this methodology, we were able to monitor stress distribution and localize large cracks by a relatively simple technique. Implementation of this approach on selected real structures might help to make decisions in infrastructure asset management.
In civil engineering concrete is the most used building material for making infrastructures like bridges and parking decks worldwide. It is as a porous and multiphase material made of aggregates with a defined grain size distribution, cement and water as well as different additives and admixtures depending on the application. Different grain sizes are important to ensure the needed density and compressive strength.
The resulting porous cement matrix contains a mixture of flour grains (aggregates with a grain size below 125 lm) and cement particles (particle size≈50lm). Harmful species like chlorides may penetrate together with water through the capillary pore space and may trigger different damage processes. The damage assessment of concrete structures in Germany is estimated due to the quantification of harmful elements regarding to the cement content only. In the evaluation of concrete using LIBS a two-dimensional scanning is necessary to consider the heterogeneity caused by the aggregates. Therefore, a LIBS system operating with a low energy NdCr:YAG laser, a pulse energy of 3 mJ, a wavelength of 1064 nm, a pulse width of 1.5 ns and a Repetition rate of 100 Hz has been used. Different Czerny-Turner spectrometers with CCD detectors in the UV and NIR range have been used for the detection. Large aggregates (macro-heterogeneity) can be excluded from the evaluation, whereas small aggregates in the range of the laser spot size (flour grains) cannot be spatially resolved. In this work the micro heterogeneity caused by flour grains and their impact on the quantification with LIBS will be discussed. To analyze the effect of changing grain sizes and ratios, the ablation behavior has been determined and compared. Samples with defined grain sizes were made and analyzed using LIBS.
The grain size distributions were analyzed with laser diffraction (LDA).
2D evaluation of spectral LIBS data derived from heterogeneous materials using cluster algorithm
(2017)
Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is capable of providing spatially resolved element maps in regard to the chemical composition of the sample. The evaluation of heterogeneous materials is often a challenging task, especially in the case of phase boundaries. In order to determine information about a certain phase of a material, the need for a method that offers an objective evaluation is necessary. This paper will introduce a cluster algorithm in the case of heterogeneous building materials (concrete) to separate the spectral information of non-relevant aggregates and cement matrix. In civil engineering, the information about the quantitative ingress of harmful species like Cl−, Na+ and SO2−4 is of great interest in the evaluation of the remaining lifetime of structures (Millar et al., 2015; Wilsch et al., 2005). These species trigger different damage processes such as the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) or the chloride-induced corrosion of the reinforcement. Therefore, a discrimination between the different phases, mainly cement matrix and aggregates, is highly important (Weritz et al., 2006). For the 2D evaluation, the expectation-maximizationalgorithm (EM algorithm; Ester and Sander, 2000) has been tested for the application presented in this work. The method has been introduced and different figures of merit have been presented according to recommendations given in Haddad et al. (2014). Advantages of this method will be highlighted. After phase separation, non-relevant information can be excluded and only the wanted phase displayed. Using a set of samples with known and unknown composition, the EM-clustering method has been validated regarding to Gustavo González and Ángeles Herrador (2007).
Polysaccharides are incorporated into cement based Systems in order to modify the rheological properties. Typically, cellulose ethers, sphingan gums, guar gum or starch ethers are applied. Depending upon their chemistry, molecular architecture, and adsorption tendency, polysaccharides interact differently with the entire cementitious system. Some stabilising agents like diutan gum mainly affect the cementitious paste; other stabilising agents like starch tend to interact with the sand fraction and even with the coarse aggregates. Cellulose and guar gum shows more diverse performances.
Typically stabilising admixtures like polysaccharides are used, when sophisticated rheological properties are adjusted. Therefore, polysaccharides are often used in combination with superplasticisers, which are added to reduce the yield stress of concrete. This can cause interactions, particularly when the stabilising Agent shows a strong tendency to adsorb on particle surfaces. Adsorptive stabilising agents may reduce the amount of adsorbed superplasticisers, thus affecting both viscosity and yield stress, while non-adsorptive stabilising agents mainly affect the plastic viscosity independently of the superplasticiser. Due to the strong influence of superplasticisers on the yield stress, influences of the stabilising agent on the yield stress retreat into the background, so that their major effect is an increase of the plastic viscosity.
The paper provides a comprehensive overview of how different polysaccharide superplasticisers affect cementitious flowable systems and points out the challenges of the combined use of polysaccharides and superplasticisers. Based on rheometric experiments and observations of the hydration process, time dependent effects on the workability as well as of the hydration of cement are presented and discussed.
Thickness determination of semitransparent solids using flash thermography and an analytical model
(2017)
As groundwork for thickness determination of polymeric surface protection systems for concrete, we present a method for measuring the thickness of isolated semitransparent solids using flash thermography both in transmission and reflection configuration. Since standard models do not capture semitransparency, an advanced analytical model by Salazar et al. is applied. Physical material parameters are deduced by fitting experimental data from samples of well-known thickness. Using those, the thickness of samples of the material can be obtained by fitting, as demonstrated for different semitransparent polymer materials.
For thickness determination of polymer based surface protection systems for concrete surfaces, so far only destructive measurement techniques are available. Pulse thermography appears to be well suited for non-destructive thickness evaluation in these systems. Here, we present first results of the development of a respective measurement and analysis procedure. Since surface protection systems consist of a number of layers, a model for the calculation of the surface temperature of a multi-layer structure on a semi-infinite (concrete) substrate in pulse thermography setup was developed. It considers semitransparency of the upmost layer and thermal losses at the surface. It also supports the use of an arbitrary temporal shape of the heating pulse to properly describe the measurement conditions for different heat sources. Simulations for one and three layers on the substrate are presented and first results from fitting the model to experimental data for thickness determination and verification of the model are presented.
As groundwork for thickness determination of polymeric surface protection systems for concrete, we present a method for measuring the thickness of isolated semitransparent solids using pulse thermography both in Transmission and reflection geometry. Since standard models do not capture semitransparency, an advanced analytical model by Salazar et al. is applied. Physical material parameters are deduced by fitting experimental data from samples of well-known
thickness. Using those, the thickness of samples of the material can be obtained by fitting, as demonstrated for different semitransparent polymer materials.
Two fly ash-based geopolymer concretes with quartz aggregates or with expanded clay (lightweight) aggregates were exposed to the ISO 834-1 standard fire curve in a small-scale fire test set-up. Acoustic emission measurements during fire exposure and subsequent cooling were employed to study spalling events and cracking during the tests. Optical microscopy and additional acoustic measurements were conducted after the testing to better understand the crack propagation in the samples. The testing revealed that neither of the concretes were susceptible to spalling, which is particularly notable for the concrete with quartz aggregates, as it is a high-strength concrete. This behavior is attributed to the relatively high permeability of the concretes and their low amount of chemically bound water. Significant crack formation was detected only around the temperature of the alpha–beta quartz transition (573 °C) and on cooling. Because of aggregate deformations at the quartz transition temperature, deterioration after heating was more significant in the geopolymer concrete with quartz aggregates. Crack formation also occurred in the concrete with expanded clay aggregates, caused by shrinkage of the geopolymer paste on cooling. Acoustic emission measurements proved to be a valuable tool to investigate processes during high temperature exposure.
Investigation of chloride-induced pitting corrosion of steel in concrete with innovative methods
(2016)
The combination of electrochemical and 3D computed tomography (CT) investigations offers the possibility of verifying electrochemical measurements non-destructively. Determining the steel surfaces damaged by pitting corrosion allows developing specimens having damage pattern corresponding to practice. Corrosion phenomena like decoupled pitting corrosion cannot be verified by electrochemical measurements only, but with the combination of those two kinds of investigations it is possible. Another advantage is the minimization of the number of samples. The classical experimental procedure requires the destruction of samples after each damage step.This can be avoided by the use of 3D computed tomography. As long as the corrosion phenomena are completely within the examination zone shown by the 3D computed tomography, the electrochemical measurements can be calculated on an area basis to get the specific corrosion rate or polarization resistance.
Recently developed new transducers for ultrasonic transmission, which can be embedded right into concrete, are now used for non-destructive permanent monitoring of concrete. They can be installed during construction or thereafter. Large volumes of concrete can be monitored for changes of material properties by a limited number of transducers. The transducer design, the main properties as well as installation procedures are presented. It is shown that compressional waves with a central frequency of 62 kHz are mainly generated around the transducer's axis. The transducer can be used as a transmitter or receiver. Application examples demonstrate that the transducers can be used to monitor concrete conditions parameters (stress, temperature,
) as well as damages in an early state or the detection of acoustic events (e.g., crack opening). Besides application in civil engineering our setups can also be used for model studies in geosciences.
This study evaluates the sensitivity of embedded ultrasonic sensors to detect propagating cracks within concrete. Because of the sensors constant coupling to the medium, highly sensitive data analysis techniques, such as the correlation between signals and their attenuation, are applied to detect changes in the signal due to propagating cracks.
The accuracy of the detected onset of the crack is evaluated with the nondestructive testing methods acoustic emission and Digital Image Correlation. It shows that with embedded ultrasonic sensors crack propagation can be detected before it is visible on the surface of the concrete.
The capabilities of non-destructive testing (NDT) methods for defect detection in civil engineering are characterized by their different penetration depth, resolution and sensitivity to material properties. Therefore, in many cases multi-sensor NDT has to be performed, producing large data sets that require an efficient data evaluation framework. In this work an image fusion methodology is proposed based on unsupervised clustering methods. Their performance is evaluated on ground penetrating radar and infrared thermography data from laboratory concrete specimens with different simulated near-surface defects. It is shown that clustering could effectively partition the data for further feature level-based data fusion by improving the detectability of defects simulating delamination, voids and localized water. A comparison with supervised symbol level fusion shows that clustering-based fusion outperforms this, especially in situations with very limited knowledge about the material properties and depths of the defects. Additionally, clustering is successfully applied in a case study where a multi-sensor NDT data set was automatically collected by a self-navigating mobile robot system.
Concrete is the most applied building material in modern times. It is present in all kinds of structures and no other material secms to rcplace concrete as the most selected building material in the near future. The prime advantages are the high performance, the easy production and a facile processability. The sustainability and durability are important requirements to concrete. Even if concrete is significantly less susceptible against factors promoting a damage, compared to other materials, there are still mechanisms affecting it. In particular, high-ways and hydraulic structures made of concrete worldwide show cases of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) damages. This article refers to experience at BAM Federal InstituteforMaterials Research and Testing for several decades to ASR research and darnage assessment. ASR is a severe darnage mechanism that can occur in concrete, when certain conditions related to composition and cxposition arise in a critical combination. The chemical reaction is based on the alkalis and the silica in the concrete and was first identified by Stanton in highway structures in California (Stanton, 1940). Actually three components are needed to initiate ASR: alkali-sensitive siliceous aggregates, alkalis coming from internal (cement or other components) or external sources (de-icing salt or sea water) and water. If all of these components are sufficiently present an alkali-silica gel could be formed (Hobbs, 1988). This gel itself needs additional space when it is formed. Furthermore it is able to swell in the presence of humidity, both processes generating an expansion pressure inside the concrete. As a consequence of intensive expansion, cracks can occur, which significantly lowers thc strength of the material. Parameters like amount and chemical composition of the gel as weil as the pattern and width of cracks can help to classify the ASR darnage (Swamy, 1992). The objective of this article is to demoostrate the microscopic work on ASR affected concrete samples, carried out to assess the damaging process or to evaluate various alkali-sensitive aggregates. It will explain the approach of ASR investigation from the macroscale to microscale, starting briefly with the condition assessment, over treatment and investigations of samples in the laboratory, to the use of different microscopical and analytical techniques. In the main part the characteristic features for identifying ASR in concrete are presented by using microscopic images. Especially the emphasis lies on the role of the aggregate.
Carbon-based conductive coatings are complex composites, consisting of an organic or inorganic binder and conductive carbon components, for application as anodes in impressed current cathodic protection systems of reinforced concrete structures. The electrochemical properties of three coatings at different humidity and in saturated calcium hydroxide solution were studied by electrochemical methods, such as electrochemical impedance measurement, measuring of open circuit potential over time and galvanostatic polarization. The dissolved organic and inorganic carbons in electrolyte solution were quantified by using a photometric method. The structures of the coatings were investigated before and after the electrochemical tests by microscopy and scanning electron microscope/EDX analysis. The results of the electrochemical impedance measurements show that the tested coatings all have a relatively low resistance, which is between 100 and 200 Ω. The binder and the surface porosity influence the degradation behavior of those coatings. Especially the organic binder reacts with the strong alkaline medium under dissolving of organic carbon.
In den letzten Jahren werden vermehrt trocken ankoppelbare Ultraschall-Punktkontaktprüfköpfe erfolgreich für Prüfaufgaben im Bauwesen angewendet. Oft werden mehrere Punktkontaktprüfköpfe in einem Gehäuse zu einer Strahlergruppe kombiniert, um die Schallbündelung zu verbessern oder um einzelne Prüfköpfe nacheinander als Sender und Empfänger zu betreiben und die Messsignale nach der Messung einer SAFT-Auswertung zuzuführen. Alternativ können die einzelnen Prüfköpfe einer solchen Gruppe laufzeitgesteuert angeregt und dadurch schon während der Messung das Prüfkopfschallfeld beeinflusst werden. Für diese Technik sind die Bezeichnungen laufzeitgesteuerte Ultraschall-Gruppenstrahler oder 'Phased Array' gebräuchlich. Mit den präsentierten Untersuchungen sollen die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der Gruppenstrahlertechnik im Niederfrequenzbereich durch den Einsatz von Punktkontaktprüfköpfen verbessert werden. Dazu werden verschiedene Wellenarten eingesetzt und der Einfluss der Anordnung der Strahlerelemente im Array untersucht.
Time reversal techniques are used in ocean acoustics, medical imaging, seismology, and non-destructive evaluation to backpropagate recorded signals to the source of origin. We demonstrate experimentally a technique which improves the temporal focus achieved at the source location by utilizing deconvolution. One experiment consists of propagating a signal from a transducer within a concrete block to a single receiver on the surface, and then applying time reversal or deconvolution to focus the energy back at the source location. Another two experiments are run to study the robust nature of deconvolution by investigating the effect of changing the stabilization constant used in the deconvolution and the impact multiple sources have upon deconvolutions focusing abilities. The results show that we are able to generate an improved temporal focus at the source transducer using deconvolution while maintaining the robust nature of time reversal. Additionally, deconvolutions costs are negligible due to it being a preprocessing step to the recorded data. The technique can be applied for detailed investigation of the source mechanisms (e.g. cracks) but also for monitoring purposes.
Cracks are always present in reinforced concrete structures. In the presented research, influence of mechanical cracks on chloride ingress is studied. A compact reinforced concrete specimen was designed, mimicking the cracking behaviour of beam elements. Cracks of different widths were induced by means of mechanical loading. These cracked specimens were then subjected to weekly cycles of wetting and drying with NaCl solution. After the exposure, the specimens were cut, and chloride distributions were determined using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), an innovative technique which enables simultaneous determination of different elements with high spatial resolution and minimal specimen preparation. By combining element distributions of different elements, it is possible to discriminate between coarse aggregate particles, and the mortar matrix. It was found that the wider the crack is, the higher the ingress of chloride ions. This was, however, different for two tested concrete mixes. Due to highly inhomogeneous chloride distribution around the cracks, use of fine-scale experimental techniques for chloride mapping is advised, based on the presented study.
Most of the previous studies on reinforced concrete columns with elastically restrained thermal elongation were carried out on square, rectangular or '+'-shaped cross sections. The number of fire resistance tests on circular reinforced concrete columns with elastically restrained thermal elongation is still very small. In order to examine the influence of several parameters on the behaviour in fire of this type of columns several fire resistance tests were carried out. The parameters tested were the load and restraint level, slenderness of the column and longitudinal reinforcement ratio. In the fire resistance tests the specimens were exposed to the ISO 834 standard fire curve and the critical time (fire resistance) and temperature and failure modes were determined. The test results showed that the spalling phenomenon may occur in circular columns and so reducing its fire resistance. The increasing of the load level led to a reduction while the increasing of the longitudinal reinforcement ratio or the decreasing of the slenderness of the columns led to an increasing of their fire resistance. The restraint level might not be much relevant on the fire resistance of circular reinforced concrete columns.
Carbon‐based conductive coatings are complex composites, consisting of an organic or inorganic binder and conductive carbon components, for application as anodes in impressed current cathodic protection systems of reinforced concrete structures. The electrochemical properties of three coatings at different humidity and in saturated calcium hydroxide solution were studied by electrochemical methods, such as electrochemical impedance measurement, measuring of open circuit potential over time and galvanostatic polarization. The dissolved organic and inorganic carbons in electrolyte solution were quantified by using a photometric method. The structures of the coatings were investigated before and after the electrochemical tests by microscopy and scanning electron microscope/EDX analysis. The results of the electrochemical impedance measurements show that the tested coatings all have a relatively low resistance, which is between 100 and 200V. The binder and the surface porosity influence the degradation behavior of those coatings. Especially the organic binder reacts with the strong alkaline medium under dissolving of organic carbon.
Utilization of coherent phase information in complex wave fields forms the basis of interferometric time series analysis. The concept is known since decades, but until about 15 years ago there have been no practical implementations. Meanwhile seismic interferometry is used in a wide range from investigations of the earth’s deep crust to engineering applications. Focused on monitoring and imaging the MIIC (Monitoring and Imaging based on Interferometric Concepts) project as part of the German GeoTechnologien program has contributed to this development. Special attention was given to the transfer of methodology to different length scales that range from centimeters, in laboratory applications, over geotechnical scales to even kilometers in seismological applications. General purpose methods and open source software was developed, which can be used on all scales. The core of the MIIC software is a Python library organized in different modules for various processing tasks. A graphical user interface facilitates the creation of processing routines by visualizing connections and dependencies of variables and by checking the consistency of data types. Example applications have included carbon sequestration, salt mine and railroad embankment monitoring as well as imaging changes in concrete constructions.
Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI), a method to evaluate subtle changes of elastic wave velocity in a medium, has been proven to be effective to detect small changes or ultrasonic velocity in concrete caused by load, temperature, moisture, damage or other means. While classical CWI is just able to determine velocity changes globally in relatively large areas between and around pairs of transmitters and receivers, several approaches have been proposed to identify the area affected by the changes more precisely. Most of them are based on the calculation of sensitivity kernels for de-correlation of signals measured at a specific state against a reference. Others follow simplified approaches. In a laboratory setup a concrete specimen of 1:5 x 1:5 x 0:5 m3 was compressed at a certain point. Maximum loads of 20 to 100 kN have been applied in 5 to 10 kN steps in various cycles. The specimen is equipped with 18 embedded ultrasonic broadband piezo transceivers (60 kHz central frequency). Ten of these receivers have been connected to a multiplexer and ultrasonic transmitting and receiving equipment in a way that allowed almost continuous two way measurements between all sensor pairs. Even simple ways to evaluate the data (e.g. crosscorrelation between signals at different load states) allowed pinpointing the load center at least approximately. A more detailed data evaluation either using CWI or even more one of the more sophisticated localization algorithms gave “sharper” results in terms of localization and a better correlation between load and velocity change/de-correlation. The results are used in upcoming monitoring systems for concrete structures.
Though, concrete in general is a non-combustible building material, modern High Performance Concrete (HPC) is very susceptible to violent explosive spalling during a fire attack. This requires protective measures for fire safety design of concrete structures. The current most worthwhile method to prevent explosive spalling is the addition of monofilament Polypropylene fibres (PP-fibres). However, since it has become common knowledge that PP-fibres are suitable for fire safety design, a variety of theories concerning the mode of action of PP-fibres have been suggested. The present article summarizes the most important hypothesis and presents an innovative method for the analysis of micro structural processes in heated specimens. The results show that due to the thermal decomposition of PP-fibres capillary channels are created. Simultaneously, a netlike micro crack formation occurs, which connects these capillary channels. This enables the relief of internal stresses (mechanical effect) and the formation of a permeable transport system for the escaping water vapour (permeation effect).
Case studies
(2013)
In this paper, some quite different survey tasks are described, and it can be seen that corrosion surveys will follow a certain scheme of data acquisition (first NDT measurements, than detailed testing on suspect areas), but the individual scope of on-site measurements may have a vast variety according to the local circumstances, and the interpretation always has to refer to a wider set of information than the data readings only.
Ultrasound sensors should be embedded into concrete for monitoring concrete properties. These new longitudinal wave sensors with a center frequency of 60 kHz were examined regarding their suitability for ultrasonic measurements in concrete structures in terms of emission characteristics, sensitivity and frequency ränge.
For the measurement of the radiation patterns, the sensors were embedded vertically and horizontally in concrete cylinders. The directivity pattern was measured using a laser vibrometer.
The sensitivity of the sensor was determined in water using different sensors of the same type. It shows changes in the signal amplitude as well as variations in the frequency ränge for different transmitter-receiver combinations.
The attenuation of the concrete affects the achievable resolution of the measurements and thus, the maximum possible spacing of the sensors within a concrete element. Experimental tests helped optimizing the distances with respect to the required resolution and the effort of embedding the sensors. The signal attenuation in the concrete was measured in the frequency ränge of 60 kHz in response to various degrees of reinforcement and grain size. For this purpose, the sensors were cast at different distances in the specimens studied. The recorded Signals were evaluated for their amplitude and frequency spectrum.
Ultrasonic methods are valuable tools for quality assessment and structural imaging of concrete. In such applications, accurate and reliable determination of ultrasonic wave velocities is essential, as they are affected by various experimental and environmental factors. In this research coda wave interferometry (CWI) was used to determine the influence of temperature (0 to 50 °C) on ultrasonic wave velocity in concrete samples. A resolution of better than 10-4 was achieved in the measurement of relative velocity changes. Reversibility and repeatability as well as the influence of moisture were taken into account. In addition the influence of sensor (transmitter and receiver) positioning errors on the results of the interferometric algorithm was evaluated as well as the benefit of newly developed, permanently embedded sensors. The presented results can be used to evaluate and refine data from ultrasonic monitoring systems.
Coda wave interferometry is a recent analysis method now widely used in seismology. It uses the increased sensitivity of multiply scattered elastic waves with long travel-times for monitoring weak changes in a medium. While its application for structural monitoring has been shown to work under laboratory conditions, the usability on a real structure with known material changes had yet to be proven. This article presents experiments on a concrete bridge during construction. The results show that small velocity perturbations induced by a changing stress state in the structure can be determined even under adverse conditions. Theoretical estimations based on the stress calculations by the structural engineers are in good agreement with the measured velocity variations.
The aim of this project is to get deeper insight into the fatigue behaviour of concrete under cyclic compressive loading. It focuses on the evaluation and modelling of the entire damage process during life-cycle by means of various non-destructive measuring techniques. In numerous tests on cylinders h/d = 30/10 cm under different cyclic loading conditions, the crack development and the damage evolution are monitored using acoustic emission analysis and ultrasonic velocity measurement. The final aim will be the definition of a damage descriptor D based on experimental observations, which can be implemented into a numerical model on a meso-mechanical level.
The reduction of the chromate contents in cements affects the electrochemical reactions of galvanized reinforcing steels in fresh concrete. By means of electrochemical measurements and bar pull-out tests the effect of chromates on the formation of protective coatings at the zinc and the bond behaviour have been investigated using chromate-containing and chromate-reduced cements. The results have shown that the bond zone was affected as a result of chromate reduction for cement types CEM I and CEM II. The disturbance to the bond zone should be considered as long-term in relation to the pore structure which is formed. The effects on the bond are largely compensated for as the concrete ages. The results of the related bond strength with displacement paths of 0.1 and 0.5?mm, respectively, are still within the range of expected figures for non-galvanized reinforcing steel despite the structural disturbance. Under practical aspects it is not necessary that the existing structural disturbance with respect to bond strength is taken into consideration.
Der Einsatz von Sekundärrohstoffen im Betonbau kann einen wesentlichen Beitrag zu einer nachhaltigen Ressourcenwirtschaft im Bauwesen leisten. Sekundärrohstoffe (Recycling-Baustoffe, RC-Baustoffe) finden bereits Anwendung als Roh- bzw. Brennstoffe in der Portlandzementklinkerherstellung, als Zementbestandteile, als Betonzusatzstoffe sowie als sekundäre Gesteinskörnungen in Beton. In einem Teilprojekt des DAfStb/BMBF-Verbundforschungsvorhabens 'Nachhaltig Bauen mit Beton' wurde das Einsatzpotenzial von Sekundärrohstoffen in Beton untersucht. Hierbei spielen sowohl technische als auch ökologische und ökonomische Fragestellungen eine wichtige Rolle. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde eine Bewertungsgrundlage mit ganzheitlicher Betrachtung von Nachhaltigkeitsaspekten (Technik, Ökologie, Ökonomie) ausgearbeitet. Dieses Bewertungskonzept umfasst die vier Bewertungsschritte: I. Grundsätzliche Überlegungen, II. Vorteile für das nachhaltige Bauen, III. Alternative Bewertungswege und IV. Sensitivitätsanalysen. Das Bewertungskonzept wurde am Beispiel der bereits im Betonbau eingesetzten rezyklierten Gesteinskörnungen entwickelt.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nowadays there are several applications of secondary mineral materials and residues. In the framework of the German research project 'Sustainable Building with Concrete', a concept to assess the applicability of already used and new secondary materials in concrete has been developed. It considers sustainability aspects and includes the following four assessment steps: I. Basic considerations, II. Advantages for sustainable construction, III. Alternative paths of application, and IV. Sensitivity analysis. Depending on changing technical, ecological and economic aspects, the assessment has to be performed for changed technical, ecological and economic conditions as necessity arises.
This paper studies the dielectric dispersion of high frequency radar wave in concrete in early-aged and hardened concrete specimens. Frequency-dependent spectra of phase velocity ν(ω) were measured to deduce the spectra of real part of dielectric permittivity ε'(ω). The dispersion was measured by three high nominal ground penetrating radar frequencies (1.5, 1.6 and 2.6 GHz), experimenting on two steel bars with concrete cover 50 and 100 mm. It was found that ν(ω) and ε'(ω) dispersed at lower frequency, but became stable at high frequency regions, which agrees with the classical GPR plateau. The same frequency components at different nominal antenna frequencies show a close range of ν(ω) and ε'(ω) in concrete of different ages. The results in this paper warrant further investigation of using GPR wave to study material properties.
The delamination of concrete slabs is the separation along a plane roughly parallel to, and generally near, the surface. Corrosion-induced delamination is a common problem in old concrete bridge decks. If undetected, delaminations could expand, reach the surface, and result in spalling. Early detection of delamination is necessary for planning timely repairs that prevent costly deck replacement projects. Most bridge owners rely on routine visual and traditional surveys of bridge deck conditions. These surveys are highly subjective and can locate only large shallow delaminated zones. Several nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques have recently been employed for bridge deck evaluation to obtain more objective and comprehensive assessment. The reliability of applicable methods needs to be established before a greater role for NDT in routine inspections can be encouraged. This paper presents a validation study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of three NDT techniques, namely impact echo, ultrasound (US) echo, and US linear array, in detection of delamination. This study is unique because the subject test specimens were deteriorated bridge deck segments preserved from the demolition of a prestressed box girder bridge. The results of the tests conducted on one of the specimens are presented and discussed here: impact echo provided satisfactory overall assessment, but the individual results were often difficult to interpret; US echo detected deep delaminations but not shallow ones; and US linear array located the extent of deep delaminations and provided indications of shallow ones.
Ingenieurbauten des Bundesfernstraßenbereichs sind aufgrund ihrer Exposition an vielen Stellen besonders betroffen von Graffiti. Graffitischmierer nehmen hierbei keine Rücksicht auf die Art der Substratmaterialien, und besonders poröse Untergründe bereiten Schwierigkeiten bei der Reinigung. Um Baustoffoberflächen besser zu schützen und von Graffiti leichter reinigen zu können, wurden in den vergangen Jahren spezielle Prophylaxesysteme (Anti-Graffiti-Systeme, AGS) entwickelten. Für die Beurteilung der Funktionalität und Verwendbarkeit dieser Anti-Graffiti-Systeme wurden von der Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) eine neue Technische Prüfvorschrift und Technische Lieferbedingungen (TP/TL AGS-Beton) erarbeitet. Die TP/TL AGS-Beton gilt hierbei nur für die Beurteilung von AGS auf Betonuntergründen. In einer Forschungsstudie wurde untersucht, inwieweit die vorhandene Prüfvorschrift für Betonsubstrate auch auf andere Untergründe, z. B. Naturstein oder Klinker, angewendet werden kann. Weiterhin wurde untersucht, welche Faktoren eine Rolle bei der Reinigung von mit AGS behandelten verschiedenen Substraten spielen.
Surface wave velocities over the sonic frequency range (<20 KHz) were measured on concrete specimens undergoing various cycles of loading and unloading. Acoustic Emission test (AE) was conducted simultaneously to monitor the microcracking activities. The sonic surface wave velocity was found to be highly stress-dependent. The observed changes in surface wavespeed are repeatable and follow a particular trend. By measuring the wave velocities in both loading and unloading phases, the effects of stress and stress-induced damages could be distinguished. The observed trend could be explained by a combination of acoustoelasticity and microcracking theories.
Die Dauerhaftigkeit von Betonbauteilen zu einer messbaren Größe zu machen, ist ein vorrangiges Ziel der Baustoffforschung. Schrumpfen, Schwinden und Temperaturverformungen gefährden bei Hochleistungsbetonen deren Dauerhaftigkeit. Die begleitende messtechnische Deformationsmessung wird daher zu einer unverzichtbaren Methode, Betonrezepturen zielsicher und ökonomisch hinsichtlich der Dauerhaftigkeit zu entwickeln. Ein flexibler Fabry-Pérot-Interferometer-Sensor ermöglicht die messtechnische Erfassung der frühen Deformationsprozesse bereits ab dem Moment des Betoneinbaus. Der Artikel zeigt das Sensorprinzip, Untersuchungen zur In-situ-Referenzierung und zur Rückwirkung des Sensors sowie dessen Einsatzmöglichkeiten in der Baustoff- und Materialforschung. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
The primary intention of construction materials research is to refer the durability of concrete members to a measurable parameter. Setting, shrinkage, and temperature deformations compromise the durability of high-performance concrete. The respective deformation measurement technology is becoming an indispensible method for the targeted and economic development of concrete mixtures with respect to durability. A flexible EFPI sensor enables the survey of early age deformations directly after placing the concrete. The paper deals with the sensor principle, investigations concerning in-situ referencing, and possible effects of the sensor on the matrix as well as its application in the field of materials research.
Impulse thermography is an active method for quantitative investigations of the near
surface region of various structures. It has recently been applied and optimized to applications in civil
engineering. For quantitative analysis of data recorded on the building site, the problems are manifold.
Here, the influence of the different surface properties on the detection and characterization of voids
and honeycombing simulated by polystyrene cubes and cubes prepared of porous concrete are
demonstrated.
As a result of their chemical and mineralogical characteristics, bottom ashes from municipal solid waste incinerators can, in principle, be used as aggregates in the production of normal strength concrete. However, because the ashes contain concrete-damaging components, such as chlorides, sulphates and organic compounds, or excessive quantities of fines, aluminium and waste glass, recycling becomes problematic. In particular, inclusions of aluminium in the ash particles and a glass content of about 15% cause considerable cracks and spalling in concrete specimens within a very short time. The harmful substances can be reduced or removed by additional treatments, such as upstream sieving and washing, waste glass separation, and lye treatment with sodium hydroxide solution. Tests on concretes with 232 mm bottom ash as coarse aggregates indicate that the quality of the ash is actually improved by the additional processing. Thus concretes with a compressive strength of C20/25 can easily be produced. Similar to concretes made with recycled aggregates, these concretes exhibit 15% lower compressive strength and E-modulus but twice the porosity of control specimens containing exclusively natural sand and gravel. However, only those concretes that were made with ash with a low aluminium content as a result of lye treatment remained free of damage.
Sulfate attack constitutes a major risk of chemical aggression for concrete and other building materials. Mainly structures exposed to sewage waters and sulfate rich soils are affected. The measurement of sulfate ingress is important for damage assessment previous to repair works and for quality assurance of the effectiveness of protecting coatings or during concrete removal.
Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is introduced for the quantitative measurement of sulfur contents in building materials, providing detailed depth profiles and imaging element distributions with 1 mm spatial resolution. Detailed statistical evaluation is possible due to the spatial resolution and the fast measurement of the method. Practical applications of the method for damage assessment are demonstrated for three different sewage plants.
Für die zerstörungsfreie Prüfung großer Betonbauwerke unter dem Aspekt der Analyse von Spannkanälen hat sich die Ultraschalltechnik in den letzten Jahren als geeignete Methode herausgestellt, da sowohl die Messtechnik insbesondere die Ultraschallwandler als auch die numerischen Auswerteverfahren in einem Stadium sind, das es erlaubt, größere Messflächen und damit größere Volumina zu beschallen und abzubilden. Mit Hilfe der Modellierung der Ausbreitung elastischer Wellen in komplexen Medien können praxisrelevante Problemstellungen untersucht werden, auch unter dem Aspekt, Testkörper zu planen oder gar zu ersetzen. Durch die Auswertung der Phase der Rekonstruktion eines Streuvorgangs können Fehlstellen klassifiziert und damit Aussagen über die Bauwerkssicherheit signifikant objektiviert werden. Die Methoden werden, im Hinblick auf eine ganzheitliche Sichtweise von skalaren und polarimetrischen Abbildungsverfahren mit Unterstützung der Modellierung und der anschließenden Klassifizierung durch Phasenanalyse, an ausgewählten Beispielen erläutert.
For nondestructive testing of concrete buildings under the aspect of tendon duct analysis, ultrasonic testing has proven to be a suitable method, as both the measuring technique in particular the acoustic sensors and the numerical methods allow the insonification and imaging of larger surfaces and volumes. With the aid of numerical modelling of elastic wave propagation in complex media real life problems can be examined with the goal to design or even to replace test specimen. By determination of the phase of an imaged scattering event, defects can be classified, and the prediction of the integrity of buildings can be significantly objectified. The methods are explained for selected examples in an integral way with respect to scalar and polarimetric imaging algorithms supported by modelling and subsequent classification through phase analysis.
An innovative application of ultrasonic testing using phased arrays for concrete components was investigated. A low frequency ultrasonic phased array consisting of ten transducers was used. This configuration allowed the variation and control of the sound field directivity during the measurement. The measurements were carried out on concrete test specimens using a scanning laservibrometer in through transmission mode. The laboratory measurements were compared to theoretical calculations to investigate the influence of shape and dimension of the transducer on the resulting sound field patterns. The technique was successfully implemented to detect an ungrouted tendon duct in a concrete block.
Validation of non-destructive testing methods is necessary to create a common basis where different systems can be compared and their applications and limitations be identified. This can be achieved through comparing the measurements taken by several systems used for a common diagnostic purpose under practical but controlled testing conditions. Well-designed small and large laboratory or field specimens promise such conditions.
The special concrete specimen (LCS) at BAM was constructed for validation purposes, in particular, to be used for evaluating the performance of echo methods. The thickness of the specimen is varying and it contains carefully designed built-in faults, such as voids, honeycombs and tendon ducts with various degrees of grouting defects. Since the geometry and condition of the defects are known, it can be used to compare the performance of radar, ultrasonic, impact-echo. The research was conducted within the Research group FOR384, sponsored by the German Research Society DFG.
Non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures plays an increasing role in civil engineering. This paper presents the results of systematic measurements carried out in the laboratory at BAM and on-site at several bridges using reconstructed and fused radar and ultrasonic echo data sets. For investigating the influence of concrete mixture, radar and ultrasonic measurements were performed at test specimens consisting of concrete mixtures with different pore content and distribution as well as with steel fibres. Further, it is demonstrated how the fusion of data sets recorded with different methods at the same structure (here: concrete bridges) enhances the information content in the fused data set. Different approaches for data fusion algorithms are discussed. The results of these investigations show the high potential of reconstruction and data fusion for the improvement and simplification of the interpretability of large data sets measured with impulse-echo methods. The presented results are based on the research project FOR384 funded by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft).
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been employed for the investigation of the sulfur and chlorine content of building materials. Both, chloride and sulfate ions are major damaging species affecting the stability and lifetime of a structure. Chlorine and sulfur are mostly detected in the VUV and the NIR. In case of building materials the main elements like calcium or iron have many strong spectral lines over the whole spectral range, so that trace elements can only be detected in spectral windows unaffected from these lines. With regard to a preferably simply, robust against dust and vibrations and portable setup only the NIR spectral features are used for civil engineering applications.
Most detectors, mainly CCD cameras have rapidly decreasing quantum efficiency in the NIR. Also the quantum efficiency of the photocathode of CCD-Detectors with image intensifier is decreasing in the NIR. Different CCD-detectors were tested with respect to high quantum efficiency and high dynamic range, which is necessary for simultaneous detection of weak spectral lines from trace elements and intense spectral lines from main elements.
The measurements are made on reference samples consisting of cement, hydrated cement, cement mortar and concrete with well-defined amounts of the trace elements. Experimental conditions are chosen for an optimum intensity of the trace element spectral lines. The detector systems are compared by limit of detections and the signal to noise ratio.
The interaction of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash (MSWI bottom ash), when utilized as an aggregate in concrete, with the cement matrix was investigated. The most prominent reaction observed in lab and field concrete was the formation of aluminium hydroxide and the release of hydrogen gas from aluminium grains reacting in the alkaline environment. The expansive aluminium reaction was identified as a main cause of extensive spalling on the concrete surface. Due to the higher content of bottle glass as part of the ash, in all samples, reaction products of an alkali-silica reaction (ASR) could be observed as well. However, damage due to ASR were less severe than those caused by the aluminium reaction. The expansion rates were low and only a few of the lab samples showed cracking. Microstructural analysis of the samples indicated clearly that a large quantity of the alkali-silica gel which was formed was accommodated in the pores and voids without exerting any strain on the material.
Impulse-thermography is an active method for quantitative investigations of the near surface region of various structures. It has recently been applied and optimised to applications in civil engineering. By using either an internal or external heat source, parts of the structure under investigation are heated up and the transient heat flux is observed by recording the temperature change at the surface as a function of time. This method is very well suited for the detection of voids and honeycombing in concrete, up to concrete covers of 10 cm as well as for the location of delaminations in multi-layered systems (e.g. plaster on concrete, CFRP-laminates on concrete, asphalt on concrete). Also safety relevant defects like voids in tendon ducts and cracks in concrete could be recognised.
The applicability of pulse phase thermography (PPT) for the investigation of structures is studied systematically on concrete test specimens and on a plastered sandstone column. In the test specimens, voids and delaminations are implemented in different depths and with different sizes, modelling real voids, honeycombing and debonding. Delaminations of plaster in concrete and masonry and behind tiles on concrete are investigated. PPT is based on the frequency analysis of the cooling down process of actively heated surfaces. Therefore, it is contactless and thus completely non-destructive (if overheating of the surface is prevented), fast and allows the inspection of large surface areas. The interpretation of amplitude and phase images gives semi-quantitative information about the observed defects. The phase images provide a deeper probing up to 1015 cm in relation to the interpretation of the thermograms and to the amplitude images. In addition, the influence of surface inhomogeneities and non-uniform heating is reduced.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been used for quantitative measurement of trace elements, e.g. sulfur and chlorine, in concrete. Chloride and sulfate ions have a large effect on the durability of concrete structures, and quantitative measurement is important for condition assessment and quality assurance. Concrete is a highly heterogeneous material in composition and grain-size distribution, i.e. the spatial distribution of elements. Calibration plots were determined by use of laboratory-made reference samples consisting of pressings of cement powder, hydrated cement, cement mortar, and concrete, in which the heterogeneity of the material is increasing because of the aggregates. Coarse aggregate and cement paste are distinguishable by the intensity of the Ca spectral lines. More advanced evaluation is necessary to account for the effect of the fine aggregate. The three series of reference samples enable systematic study of the effects of heterogeneity on spectral intensity, signal fluctuation, uncertainty, and limits of detection. Spatially resolved measurements and many spectra enable statistical evaluation of the data. The heterogeneity has an effect on measurement of the sulfur and chlorine content, because both occur mainly in the cement matrix. Critical chloride concentrations are approximately 0.04% (m/m). The chlorine spectral line at 837.6 nm is evaluated. The natural sulfur content of concrete is approximately 0.1% (m/m). The spectral line at 921.3 nm is evaluated. One future application may be simultaneous determination of the amount of damaging trace elements and the cement content of the concrete.
New thermography systems enable the application of active investigation techniques, i.e. the observation of the cooling down process after heating the surface of a structure under investigation. Defects like voids in concrete having a different thermal diffusivity in comparison to the bulk material are visualised by different surface temperatures. The differences between temperature transient curves above sound regions and above inhomogeneities are expected to include information about the defect parameters.
Experimental investigations with impulse thermography and radar on a concrete test specimen containing voids were analysed. Radar was used to determine the depth of the voids. The influence of size and depth of the voids on the temperature transient curves was studied for different heating times. The transient curves were also fitted with a simple semi-empirical model.
In impact-echo testing of finite concrete structures, reflections of Rayleigh and body waves from lateral boundaries significantly affect time-domain signals and spectra. In the present paper we demonstrate by numerical simulations and experimental measurements at a concrete specimen that these reflections can lead to systematic errors in thickness determination. These effects depend not only on the dimensions of the specimen, but also on the location of the actual measuring point and on the duration of the detected time-domain signal.
The method requires two parallel boreholes in the specimen in which two microwave antennae can be moved. The moisture content in the material can be calculated from the microwave intensity transmitted between the two boreholes. Moisture profiles along the boreholes can be obtained by moving the antennae in steps along the length of the boreholes and taking measurements at each step.
The microwave frequencies used in the laboratory measurements ranged from 8 to 16.5 GHz in steps of 0.5 GHz. The diameters of the antennae were between 7 and 9 mm, and of the boreholes between 8 and 12 mm. The microwave method produced measurement uncertainties between 0 and 2% by volume for all the materials studied in this report.
The search for durable and sustainable construction materials inspires the developments in the world of cement concrete, as well as in the world of concretepolymer composites. Both worlds recognize, strive for and accept each others contribution to the synergetic effects that are realized by the combination of classical building materials and polymers. A better knowledge of materials behaviour, especially in the field of admixtures, and a better understanding of curing processes allowed the development of highly performing mineral or modified mineral concretes, mortars and grouts. CPC-science becomes an invaluable element in the development of sustainable construction materials. ICPIC brings together practitioners and scientists, dealing with concretepolymer composites in all industrial fields, but with emphasis on construction industry. The 11th International ICPIC Congress took place in Berlin, 24th June 2004. New trends and evolutions have been presented and discussed. The highlights of the Congress, and the synergies for the construction world that emerge from this congress on polymers in concrete in combination with cement concrete, are presented.
Impulse-thermography has been established as a fast and reliable tool in many areas of non-destructive testing. In recent years several investigations have been done to apply active thermography to civil engineering. For quantitative investigations in this area of application, finite difference calculations have been performed for systematic studies on the influence of environmental conditions, heating power and time, defect depth and size and thermal properties of the bulk material (concrete). The comparison of simulated and experimental data enables the quantitative analysis of defects.