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The LAUS: First Applications of a New System for Ultrasonic Imaging of Very Concrete Structures
(2019)
The LAUS (Large Aperture Ultrasonic System) has been developed to image very thick concrete structures, which are not accessible for commercial systems. The device and the corresponding software is the result of joint Research of BAM, an ultrasonic instrument manufacturer and University of Kassel, Germany. It consists of 12 separate Arrays of 32 point-contact shear wave transducers each, which can be deployed in flexible configurations. Each array is combined with battery and transmitter, receiver and wireless communication electronics.
Three case histories are presented. First the system was deployed on a 5-m thick heavily reinforced foundation slab.
The reflection of the slab’s bottom was imaged clearly. In addition, a multiple reflection was registered, thus giving hope that even thicker elements might be imaged by the instrument. Second, the LAUS was used to investigate a massive bridge girder where a heavy rainstorm during concreting had led to imperfections that were visible after removing the formwork was removed. The LAUS could image tendon ducts in 1.8m depth and the backwall closely behind them. Some limited areas showed blurred reflections and were checked by drill holes; these areas were affected by diffuse damage which could be repaired by injections. Third, a large retaining wall was checked for thickness.
Meanwhile, the LAUS has been used in underground waste deposits (nuclear and other) for quality assurance of sealing plugs. A confirmed penetration depth of about 7 m has been reached.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a combination of laser ablation and optical emission spectroscopy. Due to the possibility of direct measurements on the sample surface with a minimum of sample preparation investigations of building materials can be conducted quite fast. In combination with a scanning technique (translation stage or scanning mirrors head) 2D element distributions of harmful species like chlorides and alkalis are evaluated with a sub-mm resolution. By scanning a surface of typically 100 mm x 100 mm the heterogeneity of the material may be considered. LIBS is capable to identify hot spots in element concentration with a resolution of 0.1 mm or even smaller. A LIBS-system for the on-site application on building materials is, in cooperation with system developers and companies which will use this technique for investigation on real structures, under test at BAM. We present an example. Further work will focus on providing guidelines to establish LIBS as a standard procedure for chemical investigations of building materials.
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.
The research project "Ultrasonic Net for Concrete Monitoring (UNeCOM)" aims at developing a methodology for an embedded ultrasonic network for the condition assessment of infrastructure constructions. Civil engineering structures made of concrete, which are located in tectonically active regions or undergo special loading conditions, may require continuous monitoring. It is important to assess the condition of the building and its stability to recognise and classify the effect of a seismic event or evolving damage at early stages before failure occurs. Embedded ultrasonic sensors offer the possibility to detect changes in the material and degradation mechanisms from inside the structure in areas which are difficult or impossible to inspect otherwise. In contrast to conventional ultrasonic testing methods, where the concrete surfaces are scanned with ultrasound probes, this new approach uses sensors, which are embedded into concrete, eliminating the effect of variable coupling conditions between sensors and concrete. This method allows an integral detection of changes in the concrete structure, for example due to seismic activities, to detect mechanical impacts, as well as degradation of the material due to overloading. Such methods have great relevance especially for the monitoring of constructions like power plants, bridges, offshore structures and other structures with high technical safety requirements. The sensor network can be controlled remotely through the internet which is also being used for data transfer. The embedded sensor network is designed to monitor structural damage and concrete degradation globally with high sensitivity.
Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) - visualization of ion transport processes in concrete
(2014)
Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a combination of laser ablation and optical emission spectroscopy. Due to the possibility of direct measurements on the sample surface and a minimum of sample preparation investigations of building materials can be conducted quite fast. In combination with a scanning technique (translation stage or scanning mirrors head) the element distributions are evaluated with mm resolution. Thus the heterogeneity of the material may be considered. This is a significant advantage compared to standard procedures. LIBS measurements are also time and cost saving in comparison to standard methods. The automated measurement procedures minimize the liability for errors. All elements are detectable. Results can be quantified after calibration. At BAM LIBS has been successfully applied for the investigation of distribution and transport of different ions in building materials. Quantitative measurements are performed for chlorine, sodium, potassium, sulfur, lithium and hydrogen. In addition the identification of substances and the evaluation of quantitative ratios by means of an integrated marker are possible. An overview about the principle and the possibilities of LIBS investigations of building materials is presented and typical applications are shown. The LIBS technique is close to practical application on-site.
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.
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.
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.