The 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 required 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 taking in to account the heterogeneity of the material. 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 minimise the liability for errors. All elements are detectable and after calibration results can be quantified. 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, sulphur, lithium and hydrogen. Beside this 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 on the step from laboratory application to on-site analyses.
The laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) gives an alternative to the standard techniques for the direct investigation of a building material. It utilize a high energy pulsed laser beam for ablation and vaporization of a small amount of material, a plasma is formed and the plasma radiation is investigated using optical emission spectroscopy. Due to the principal all elements are detectable during one measurement. In combination with a translation stage or scanner system the heterogeneity of concrete is considered in the results. Thus an element concentration may be correlated to the cement content. After calibration with a set of reference samples quantitative results are obtained. The system is automated and allows rapid measurements and minimizes the possibility of errors. At BAM a laboratory LIBS system has been successful applied for the investigation of transport processes of different ions in building materials. The spatial resolution of the measurement may rich 100 μm and the frequency of the measurements is 100 Hz. The concentration of chlorine, sulfur, carbon, sodium, potassium, lithium and hydrogen where quantitatively determined. A mobile system for on-site analysis on bridges or parking decks is available. It is a tool for the estimation of the condition of concrete structures and for quality assurance during concrete repair work on-site. In these work an overview of the possibilities of LIBS for automated investigation of building materials are given.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a combination of plasma generation on the sample surface by a high power laser pulse and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). It is a direct measurement method without an extensive sample preparation. Concrete is a multi phase system. With LIBS it is possible to distinguish the different phases and based on that to correlate the chloride content to the cement mass. This is done by scanning the surface with a resolution of up to 0.1 mm. The high measurement frequency of 100 Hz or even higher allows the in-situ visualization of the chloride content over the measured area. With a calibration a quantification of chloride concentration is possible. As an example the LIBS measurement on a 50 mm by 70 mm area with a resolution of 0.5 mm and the visualization of the chloride distribution takes only 10 minutes. Additionally it is possible to evaluate the carbonation depth from the same measurement. Examples of practical application to determine the chloride-to-cement-content on concrete samples are presented. The possibilities and the limitations of LIBS are discussed.
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).