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Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are largely used all over the world. The leading SCMs are fly ash (FA) and slag. However, such materials originate from industries that are not well established in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Therefore, it becomes extremely challenging and expensive to build up sustainable cement and concrete. For SSA, agriculture is one of the leading economic sectors. Agricultural by-products such as rice husk ash (RHA), can be a potential binder material beneficial for use in a cementitious system. RHA combined with limestone filler (LSF) is an option that can be practised for rice producing countries in Africa.
Amplitudes variation of GPR rebar reflection due to the influence of concrete aggregate scattering
(2015)
Dense GPR measurements of rebar reflection amplitudes Show relative variations, which can be in the order of more than 10% - 20%. Former investigations demonstrated that these variations are caused by the heterogeneity of concrete, i.e. due to the inclusion of aggregates in concrete. These amplitude variations make it difficult to analyse single reflection amplitudes in order to determine the rebar diameter or to estimate the concrete deterioration state. In a systematic study we have quantified the statistical variation of the rebar reflection amplitude for concrete covers of 6 cm, 9 cm, 12 cm, 15 cm and 18 cm, for two different grading curves and for the rebar diameters 12 mm and 28 mm. Also the influence of the wavelength has been investigated by using antennas with different centre frequencies in relation to the aggregate size. The results are discussed with regard to a quantitative amplitude evaluation of GPR measurements and also the potential of using these variations for a characterization of concrete material properties.
Simulations of concrete on the mesoscale require complex geometry models that resolve single aggregates. Since they fill up to 60-80% of the virtual specimen, efficient algorithms for their placement are necessary.
Event-driven molecular dynamics (EDMD) algorithms using growing spheres are proven to create dense polydisperse sphere packings. In this paper, a modified EDMD algorithm is presented and compared to the widely used random sequential addition algorithm. It reaches denser aggregate packings and saves computation time at high volume fractions.
When meshing the geometry, a minimal distance between the aggregates ensures undistorted elements. It is obtained by increasing the aggregate size during the placement process, which makes the packing problem more challenging. For a given aggregate volume fraction, the presented algorithm maximizes this distance and meshable mesoscale geometries for concrete specimens with more than 70% aggregate content are produced.
This paper describes an innovation of a phased array using dry contact probes to test concrete components. Based on preceding work on pressure waves, a low-frequency ultrasonic phased array consisting of shear wave probes is used in the experiments. This configuration allows the variation and control of the sound field directivity during the measurement. The measurements are carried out on a concrete test block using a scanning laservibrometer and a scanner system in transmission mode. The laboratory measurements are compared to theoretical calculations to investigate the influence of the probes shape and dimension on the resulting sound field patterns. The comparison of the modelling and the measurements demonstrates the suitability of the point source synthesis as a tool for the optimization of probe array designs. Methods of coded are used to improve the signal to noise ratio.
Moisture and salt loads of concrete can significantly change its microstructure and consequently lead to chemical and mechanical degradation. However, the non-destructive investigation of moisture and salt present in concrete is still difficult. In order to address and compare the sensitivity of different methods concrete samples with different pore systems realized by varying the w/z ratios have been fabricated. The focus of this study was put on the analysis of ultrasonic long and trans waves measured on the surface and in transmission mode. The results show clear dependencies of all applied methods. With the radar and microwave methods predominantly changes in the concrete moisture could be detected, whereas the different pore systems were not observed to alter the signals. In contrast for the ultrasound method also the ongoing hydration as well as the nature of the pore system strongly influenced the signals. As a consequence in a subsequent drying experiment it was also tried to delineate the effects of moisture and hydration. All specimens have been re-saturated under pressure and the drying experiment was repeated using the same multi-sensor approach.
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.
Ultrasonic echo testing is widely used in non-destructive testing in civil engineering to investigate concrete structures, to measure thickness, and to locate and characterise built-in components or inhomogeneities. Currently, synthetic aperture focusing techniques are mostly used for imaging. These algorithms are highly developed but have some limitations. For example, it is not possible to image the lower boundary of built-in components like tendon ducts or vertical reflectors. We adopted reverse time migration for non-destructive testing in civil engineering in order to improve the imaging of complicated structures in concrete. By using the entire wavefield, including waves reflected more than once, there are fewer limitations compared to synthetic aperture focusing technique algorithms. As a drawback, the required computation is significantly higher than that for the techniques currently used. Simulations for polyamide and concrete structures showed the potential for non-destructive testing. The simulations were followed by experiments at a polyamide specimen. Here, having acquired almost noise-free measurement data to test the algorithm, we were able to determine the shape and size of boreholes with sufficient accuracy. After these successful tests, we performed experiments at a reinforced concrete foundation slab. We obtained information from the data by reverse time migration, which was not accessible by traditional imaging. The imaging of the location and structure of the lower boundary of the concrete foundation slab was improved. Furthermore, vertical reflectors inside the slab were imaged clearly, and more flaws were found. It has been shown that reverse time migration is a step forward in ultrasonic testing in civil engineering.
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.