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Der Vortrag behandelt den Stand der Technik bei der zerstörungsfreien Prüfung von Betonkonstruktionen und insbesondere den Stand und die Herausforderungen bei der Digitalisierung. Es werden Prüfaufgaben sowie etablierte Prüfmethoden und die passende Auswahl diskutiert. Ein weitere Schwerpunkt liegt bei der Genauigkeit und Verlässlichkeit und dem Konzept ZfPStatik. Abschließend werden Schnittstellen zu BIM, SIB-Bauwerke und anderen System kurz angerissen und ein Katalog offener Fragen aufgestellt.
Until the 1980s radiography was used to inspect civil structures 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. Meanwhile, 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 when applied to reinforced or prestressed concrete inspection.
Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Muons are particles generated naturally by cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere and pose no risk to humans. Novel detectors and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened new fields of application, mainly in the nuclear sector, but also in spectacular cases such as the Egyptian pyramids.
As a first step towards practical application in civil engineering and as a proof of concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference reinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this kind of investigation, the muon imaging results have been at least of similar quality compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging, potentially even better. Recently, the research was expanded to more realistic testing problems such as the detection of voids in certain structural elements. However, before practical implementation, more robust, mobile, and affordable detectors would be required as well as user-Friendly imaging and simulation software.
The built infrastructure ages and requires regular inspection and, when in doubt, monitoring. To ensure that older concrete bridges showing signs of deterioration can be used safely, several innovative monitoring tools have been introduced, including but not limited to optical, fiber-optic, or acoustic emission techniques. However, there are gaps in the portfolio. A sensing technique that covers a wide range of damage scenarios and larger volumes, while still being sensitive and specific, would be beneficial.
For about 15 years, research has been conducted on ultrasonic monitoring of concrete structures that goes beyond the traditional ultrasonic pulse velocity test (PV test), mostly using a very sensitive data evaluation technique called coda wave interferometry. At BAM we have developed sensors and instrumentation specifically for this method.
We have instrumented a 70-year-old, severely damaged prestressed concrete bridge in Germany in addition to a commercial monitoring system. We have now collected data for almost 3 years. We can show that we can provide information about the stress distribution in the bridge. We have also been able to confirm that there has been no significant additional damage to the bridge since the installation.
X-rays without X-rays: Can muon tomography provide pictures from within concrete and other objects?
(2024)
Until the 1980s radiography was used to inspect civil structures 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. Meanwhile, 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 when applied to reinforced or prestressed concrete inspection.
Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Muons are particles generated naturally by cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere and pose no risk to humans. Novel detectors and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened new fields of application, mainly in the nuclear sector, but also in spectacular cases such as the Egyptian pyramids.
As a first step towards practical application in civil engineering and as a proof of concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference reinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this kind of investigation, the muon imaging results have been at least of similar quality compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging, potentially even better. Recently, the research was expanded to more realistic testing problems such as the detection of voids in certain structural elements. However, before practical implementation, more robust, mobile, and affordable detectors would be required as well as user-Friendly imaging and simulation software.
The talk also discusses other applications , such as volcanology, mining and geothermal exploration.
The evaluation of technical components and materials in terms of condition and quality with the aid of non-destructive testing methods plays an outstanding role both in industrial serial production and in the individual assessment of components. The ultrasonic echo method is used for a wide variety of testing tasks, such as measuring the thickness of a component. At the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin, test methods are developed and their performance is demonstrated. For this purpose, references such as materials, test procedures or data sets are generated, which are used to evaluate these developed test methods. An important component of these references are data sets that are created according to the BAM Data Policy and made available to the scientific community and users of test methods in practice on the basis of the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse).
When reassessing existing concrete bridges, the challenge is often to obtain missing or incomplete information on the internal structure. In particular, the number and position of the existing reinforcement as well as the geometric dimensions of the components are of interest. Non-destructive testing methods, like radar or ultrasound, which work on the basis of the pulse-echo method, have been established for this purpose, as they only require access to the component from one side. The measurement data recorded on the structure require pre-processing to be able to reproduce the internal structure geometrically accurately. Besides different steps of data processing, the geometrical reconstruction of the measured data based on the Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) is state of the art today. In this paper, the technical possibilities of the ultrasonic echo method are presented based on measurements in the laboratory and on a real bridge structure. The precision of the reconstruction and its limitations are shown. In addition to the state of the art SAFT technique, open questions and the latest research approaches, such as imaging by reverse time migration (RTM) including initial results are discussed.
The structural integrity of sealing structures in underground repositories for radioactive waste is a major concern regarding safe disposal. Non-destructive testing plays a very important role in the safety of this sealing structures. Ultrasonic pulse echo technology has been established in the construction industry as a non-destructive testing method for locating potential defects and material characterization of concrete structures. A borehole probe is an ultrasonic pulse-echo device used to investigate the internal structures of salt concrete. A prototype borehole probe is successfully demonstrated with the existing research borehole in the test site using a commercially available flaw detector. A novel phased array borehole probe that allows the beam to be focused based on the delay law was constructed and tested. The directivity measurements on the semi-cylindrical concrete sample agree well with the simulation results for the different focusing angles. In combination with geophysical reconstruction methods, the optimized radiation pattern of the probe is expected to improve the signal quality and thus increase the reliability of the imaging results. In addition, a unique large aperture ultrasound system (LAUS) is expected to provide enhanced images of possible cracks and embedded objects in in-situ structures. LAUS will be optimized to reliably detect objects at depths greater than 9 m and, at the same time, provide good resolution. Modeling studies show the potential to increase the distance between the transducer arrays further, and the same configuration has been successfully tested on a thick concrete wall. Overall, the paper shows that quality assurance using ultrasonic testing is crucial for constructing safe sealing structures to dispose of radioactive or toxic waste.
According to the NBI database, more than 21,000 in-service U.S. bridges lack sufficient structural documentation necessary for analytical load rating. Among these are a significant proportion of older prestressed concrete bridges. Given the lack of documentation on the reinforcing layout, such structures cannot be load rated analytically and are often subject to engineering judgement as the basis for rating. Otherwise, the typical approach for load rating such bridges is to conduct costly proof load testing and destructive probing together with making conservative assumptions. Therefore, any improvement to current practices will benefit DOTs and taxpayers alike. Accurately reconstructed 3D images of the girders to reflect the internal reinforcement could mitigate the need for costly, if not impractical, destructive testing and proof load testing, and help reduce dependency on conservative assumptions. This study examines a comprehensive NDE approach using ultrasonic tomography and GPR to aid in gathering structural information for load rating purposes. Different types of AASHTO and hollow core girders were tested.
Muon tomography applied to assessment of concrete structures: First experiments and simulations.
(2022)
Non-destructive techniques for reinforced or prestressed concrete inspection such as ultrasound or radar have found regular, successful practical application but sometimes suffer from limited resolution and accuracy, imaging artefacts or restrictions in detecting certain features. Until the 1980s X-ray transmission was used in case of special demands and showed a much better resolution than other NDT techniques. However, due to safety concerns and cost issues, this method is almost never used anymore. Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Novel detectors for cosmic muons and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened new fields of application. As a first step towards practical application in civil engineering and as a proof of concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference reinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this kind of investigation, the muon imaging results are at least of similar quality compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging, potentially even better. In a second step, we have performed simulations to assess the potential for a set of important testing problems such as grouting defects in tendon ducts. The next steps include the development of mobile detectors and optimizing acquisition and imaging parameters.
This presentation summarizes the opbjectives and the progress of the EURATOM project PREDIS (pre-disposal management of radioactive waste) and its workpackage 7 in particular. Focus is on the development of wireless sensors for monitoring radioactive waste packages, measuring radiation, temperature, pressure and humidity.
To improve ultrasonic imaging of concrete structures, we transferred a seismic migration technique, the Reverse Time Migration (RTM), to non-destructive testing. A 2D elastic RTM algorithm was tested on synthetic ultrasonic echo data. Compared to the typically used synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) as well as our acoustic RTM algorithm, the presented elastic RTM results show an enhancement in imaging vertical reflectors and complex features inside the 2D numerical concrete model.
Multifaceted developments for pre-disposal management of low and intermediate level radioactive waste are undertaken in the EC funded project PREDIS. In work package 7, innovations in cemented waste handling and pre-disposal storage are advanced by testing and evaluating. To provide better means for safe and effective monitoring of cemented waste packages including prediction tools to assess the future integrity development during pre-disposal activities, several monitoring and digital tools are evaluated and improved. Both safety enhancement (e. g. less exposure of testing personnel) and cost effectiveness are part of the intended impact. Current methods to pack, store, and monitor cemented wastes are identified, analysed and improved. Innovative integrity testing and monitoring techniques applied to evaluate and demonstrate package and storage quality assurance are further developed. The work includes but is not limited to inspection methods such as muon imaging, wireless sensors integrated into waste packages as well as external package and facility monitoring such as remote fiber optical sensors. The sensors applied will go beyond radiation monitoring and include proxy parameters important for long term integrity assessment (e. g. internal pressure). The measured data will be used in digital twins of the packages for specific simulations (geochemical, integrity) providing a prediction of future behaviour. Machine Learning techniques trained by the characterization of older packages will help to connect the models to the actual data. As data handling, processing and fusion are crucial for both the monitoring and the digital twin model, all data (measured and simulated) will be collected in a joint data base and connected to a decision framework. Finally, the implementation of the improved techniques will be tested at actual facilities. An overview about various relevant tools, their interconnections, and first research results will be shown.
Geophysical methods are able to contribute significantly to geotechnical site characterization. In-situ parameters are collected and gaps between boreholes or other direct tests are filled with information. However the limited resolution has to be considered and the indirect geophysical parameters have to be translated into something geotechnically useful. Moreover, the limitations have to be evaluated when including geophysical data into geostatistical models. If done properly, the use of geophysics will help in an efficient and effective site characterization. A comprehensive overview on existing geophysical (mostly seismic) methods is given as well as information on the calibration of geophysical against geotechnical parameters, pitfalls and limitations and some hints how to include these data into geostatistical/geotechnical models.
This study aims to develop a real-time monitoring method for the structural performance by ultrasonic testing in combination with six-component (6-C) translation and rotation measurements. So far, the recordings of the velocity and acceleration response in the translation direction have been used to obtain the eigenfrequencies of structures. Recently, measurement of rotation has been used to fully characterize the dynamic behavior of structures. In this research, 6-C sensors consisting of a three-component rotational seismometer and a three-component broadband seismometer are evaluated for their suitability for bridge monitoring. Since changes in environmental conditions such as temperature during vibration recordings affect the structural evaluation results, cross-correlation function is applied here to the 6-C ambient vibration signals to reconstruct the wave propagation on the one hand, and coda wave interferometry (CWI) is applied to obtain the internal velocity variation from waveforms on the other hand. In field tests on a large-scale prestressed concrete bridge model, it was verified whether the prestress loss can also be determined in presence of temperature effects. For this purpose, measurements were performed in two scales, ultrasonic and output-only vibration measurements. The change in structural properties due to the prestress loss should be detected by the pulse velocity change. The results demonstrate both the performance and advantages of ultrasonic techniques and the capabilities of 6-C sensors. Thus, the application of CWI to wave signals can contribute comprehensively to bridge monitoring.
Die B1 Brücke am Altstädter Bahnhof in Brandenburg an der Havel wurde im Dezember 2019 aufgrund von während einer turnusmäßigen Inspektion entdeckten Rissen und Hohlstellen entlang der vorgespannten Längsträger gesperrt und im Mai 2021 abgebrochen. In der Zwischenzeit wurde die Brücke detailliert überwacht. Vor dem Abriss wurden zudem umfangreiche Untersuchungen zur Bestandsaufnahme und Schadensanalyse sowie Tests moderner Sensorik vorgenommen. Dabei konnte sowohl die richtige, zuvor nicht sicher bekannte Anzahl von Spanngliedern in den Querträgern sicher ermittelt werden als auch durch moderne Varianten der Schwingungsmessungen und der faseroptischen Sensorik zusätzliche Kenntnisse püber das Bauwerksverhalten ermittelt werden . In dem Beitrag werden die Verfahren mit ihren Möglichkeiten und Grenzen vorgestellt, die Ergebnissee an der Brücke in Brandenburg erläutert und zukünftige Einsatzmöglichkeiten diskutiert.
This contribution introduces an investigation of a large-scale prestressed concrete bridge model (“BLEIB” structure at the BAM-TTS open air test site) by means of on-site cooperative measurements. This bridge has an external post-tensioning system and has been instrumented with the ultrasonic transducers, temperature sensors and optical fibers for Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). Our experiment was designed to test the suitability of the novel 6C sensors developed within the framework of the GIOTTO project – the IMU50. The IMU50 sensor enables vibration measurements in translation along three axes and rotation around three axes. The geophone sensors were considered for complementary measurements of vertical velocity response. In the experiment, several perturbations were achieved by controlling the external influence factors such as loading and prestressing changes. The aim of the integrated measurement strategy was to fully observe the results of the condition change and to verify the effectiveness of multiple sensors for bridge monitoring.
Für die Qualitätssicherung von neuen Fundamenten steht eine Reihe von zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren zur Verfügung. Das Portfolio reicht von der einfachen Hammerschlagmethode („Pfahlintegritätsprüfung“) bis zu aufwändigen Ultraschallverfahren für meterstarke Fundamentplatten. Aber funktionieren die Verfahren auch im Bestand? Lassen sich die für Wieder-, Um- und Weiternutzung notwendigen Daten erfassen? Und wie werden die zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren erfolgreich in Untersuchungskonzepte integriert? Dies wird vor allem am Beispiel der Fundamente von Freileitungsmasten diskutiert.
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.
Zu jedem Endlager gehört die Entwicklung eines Verschlusskonzept. Im Endlager Morsleben und an anderer Stelle werden in Abhängigkeit vom Wirtsgestein verschiedene Materialien und Bauweisen für Streckenverschlüsse entwickelt und in großem Maßstab erprobt. Hierzu gehören auch Maßnahmen der Qualitätssicherung, die Informationen über Ausführung und Zustand der Versuchsbauwerke liefern. Hierzu werden von der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) für verschiedene Forschungsvorhaben und Prüfaufträge Methoden und Geräte getestet, verbessert und vor Ort unter Tage eingesetzt Die hier beschriebenen Verfahren lassen sich auch zu Untersuchungen im Wirtsgestein anwenden.
Zu jedem Endlager gehört die Entwicklung eines Verschlusskonzept. Im Endlager Morsleben und an anderer Stelle werden in Abhängigkeit vom Wirtsgestein verschiedene Materialien und Bauweisen für Streckenverschlüsse entwickelt und in großem Maßstab erprobt. Hierzu gehören auch Maßnahmen der Qualitätssicherung, die Informationen über Ausführung und Zustand der Versuchsbauwerke liefern. Hierzu werden von der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) für verschiedene Forschungsvorhaben und Prüfaufträge Methoden und Geräte getestet, verbessert und vor Ort unter Tage eingesetzt. Die hier beschriebenen Verfahren lassen sich auch zu Untersuchungen im Wirtsgestein anwenden.
Acoustic emission and ultrasonic monitoring of a prestressed concrete bridge in its final years
(2021)
Many European bridges built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s must be re-placed in the next decade due to structural deficiencies, insufficient load capacity or other issues. However, the existing bridges must be used for another couple of years even if flaws and damages already have been detected.
In Germany, several prestressed concrete bridges have been instrumented with acoustic emission detection systems to detect wire breaks and to provide early warning signs before failure. To evaluate and interpret the consequences of wire breaks additional instrumentation and accompanying measures as finite element modeling are required.
At a bridge in southern Germany we have complemented such a system with active ultrasonic monitoring. Repeated ultrasonic measurements are evaluated with a very sensible algorithm called coda wave interferometry. This method, inspired by seismology, has been shown to deliver early warning signs in lab experiments. Large volumes of concrete can be monitored with a limited network of ultrasonic transducers. We will report on the installation, capabilities, and lim-itations as well as first results.
Non-destructive testing methods are available in civil engineering for decades to estimate concrete properties or to detect flaws and features. But recently we have seen the dawn of next-generation tools, methods, and applications. Some of them will be discussed in the web talk: – Better tools: deeper and more detailed insight into concrete constructions – Better methods: Quantitative use in probabilistic structural assessment – Better rules: Towards standardization, qualification, and certification – Better application: Digitalization and Elimination of the boundaries between NDT, SHM, and BIM: NDT-CE 4.0 Not enough? I might show, how cosmic rays might become a game-changer in NDT-CE. This live webinar record was provided by https://eurostruct.org
The EURATOM PREDIS project (http://www.predis-h2020.eu, last access:TS1) targets the development and implementation of activities for predisposal treatment of radioactive waste streams other than nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. It started on 1 September 2020 with a 4 year duration. The consortium includes 47 partners from 17 member states. The overall budget of the project is EUR23.7 million, with EC contribution of EUR 14 million. The PREDIS project develops and increases the technological readiness level (TRL) of treatment and conditioning methodologies for wastes for which no adequate or industrially mature Solutions are currently available, including metallic materials, liquid organic waste and solid organic waste. The PREDIS project also develops innovations in cemented waste handling and predisposal storage by testing and evaluating.
The technical work packages align with priorities formulated within the Roadmap Theme 2 of EURAD (https://www.ejp-eurad.eu/TS2), Nugenia Global Vision (https://snetp.eu/nugenia/TS3) and with those identified by the project’s industrial end users group (EUG). The PREDIS will produce tools guiding decision making on the added value of the developed technologies and their impact on the design, safety and economics of waste management and disposal.
Four technical work packages are focusing on specific waste types: metallic, liquid organic, solid organic, and cemented wastes. For the first three, the main aim lies in processing, stabilizing, and packaging the different waste streams, e.g. by using novel geopolymers, to deliver items which are in line with national and international waste acceptance criteria. In contrast, the fourth technical work package has a different focus.
To provide better ways for a safe and effective monitoring of cemented waste packages including prediction tools to assess the future integrity development during predisposal activities, several digital tools are evaluated and improved. Safety enhancement (e.g. less exposure of testing personnel) and cost-effectiveness are part of the intended impact. The work includes but is not limited to inspection methods, such as muon imaging, wireless sensors integrated into waste packages as well as external package and facility monitoring, such as remote Fiber optic sensors. The sensors applied will go beyond radiation monitoring and include proxy parameters important for long-term integrity assessment (e.g. internal pressure). Sensors will also be made cost-effective to allow the
installation of many more sensors compared to current practice. The measured data will be used in digital Twins of the waste packages for specific simulations (geochemical, integrity) providing a prediction of future behavior.
Machine learning techniques trained by the characterization of older waste packages will help to connect the models to the current data. All data (measured and simulated) will be collected in a joint database and connected to a decision framework to be used at actual facilities.
The presentation includes detailed information about the various tools under consideration in the Monitoring of cemented waste packages, their connection and first results of the research.
To provide better means for a safe and effective monitoring of cemented waste packages including prediction tools to assess the future integrity development during pre-disposal activities, several digital tools are evaluated and improved in the frame of the EC funded project PREDIS. Safety enhancement (e. g. less exposure of testing personnel) and cost effectiveness are part of the intended impact. The work includes but is not limited to inspection methods such as muon imaging, wireless sensors integrated into waste packages as well as external package and facility monitoring such as remote fiber optical sensors. The sensors applied will go beyond radiation monitoring and include proxy parameters important for long term integrity assessment (e. g. internal pressure). Sensors will also be made cost effective to allow the installation of much more sensors compared to current practice. The measured data will be used in digital twins of the packages for specific simulations (geochemical, integrity) providing a prediction of future behavior. Machine Learning techniques trained by the characterization of older packages will help to connect the models to the actual data. All data (measured and simulated) will be collected in a joint data base and connected to a decision framework to be used at actual facilities. The paper includes detailed information about the various tools under consideration, their connection and first results of our research.
Die ZfP ist im Bauwesen bisher deutlich weniger reguliert (und auch akzeptiert) als in anderen Industriebereichen. Zum Beispiel gibt für die meisten Prüfverfahren weder Normen noch ein allgemein akzeptiertes Ausbildungs- und Zertifizierungssystem.
Dies hat auch Konsequenzen für die Digitalisierung. Im Gegensatz dazu wird im Bauwesen derzeit für viele Bereiche verbindlich ein neues Verfahren zur Unterstützung von Design, Planung, Herstellung und Betrieb eingeführt: BIM (Building Information Modeling). Der Vortrag beleuchtet das Spannungsfeld zwischen dem geringen Organisations- und Standardisierungsgrad und den neuen digitalen Möglichkeiten und stellt den neuen Arbeitskreis zur ZfP 4.0 im Bauwesen vor. Er beleuchtet auch, in welchen Bereichen die ZfP im Bauwesen von Entwicklungen aus „Industrie 4.0“ und der zerstörungsfreien Prüfung in anderen Anwendungsbereichen profitieren kann - z. B. bei Datenformaten, Datenarchivierung und Schnittstellen.
Long term monitoring of concrete structures using innovative NDT and SHM approaches: NDT-CE 4.0
(2021)
In Germany, a large amount of reinforced and/or prestressed concrete structures are approaching the end of their life cycle. Many of them already show a significant reduction of operability or capacity. The issue is most obvious, but not limited to traffic or energy related infrastructure. These structures have to be inspected and assessed on a regular basis. More and more permanent monitoring systems are installed to follow the degradation and to give pre-warning before failure.
While the basic mandatory inspection (e. g. of bridges) is still limited to visual examination and tap tests, more advanced investigation tools as ultrasound or radar are used more and more often. Monitoring e. g. by acoustic emission systems is increasingly used e.g. for detection of wire breaks in prestressed structures. The presentation gives an overview on the state of the art and an outlook on innovative systems, including the integration in modern data processing, evaluation, display and archive systems.
Civil engineering industry is one of the most important industry sectors in the world-wide economy. It contributes significantly to the gross economic product and general employment. Even more important, it provides many of the basic needs of the society (e. g. housing, infrastructure, protection from natural hazards).
The concept of “Industry 4.0” or “Smart Production” has not yet made significant progress in the civil engineering industry. The design, build and operate processes are still widely dominated by the exchange of printed documents and drawings. Most objects (buildings and other constructions) are unique, and a large part of the production still requires a large amount of manual labor. As-built documentation and quality assurance are often neglected. Civil engineering is among the industries sectors with the lowest level of digitalization and the lowest gain in productivity.
However, this is going to change. In the past decade, several drivers have challenged the ways clients, contractors, and authorities currently operate. These drivers include but are not limited to an increasing demand for serialization and automatization, the mandatory introduction of “Building Information Modeling” (BIM) in public procurement, the availability of construction equipment with sensors and digital interfaces or emerging automated construction technologies such as 3D-printing.
NDE (referred to as NDT-CE in this sector), after a rapid technological development in the last two decades, plays an increasing role in quality assurance, condition assessment and monitoring of structures. However, with very few exceptions, applications are mostly non-standardized and performed only at selected sites. To change this, the NDT-CE community including manufacturers, service providers, clients and the scientific community must work consistently on open data formats, interfaces to BIM, standardization and validated ways for a quantitative use of the results in the assessment of constructions.
To provide better means for a safe and effective monitoring of cemented waste packages including prediction tools to assess the future integrity development during pre-disposal activities, several digital tools are evaluated and improved in the frame of the EC funded project PREDIS. Safety enhancement (e. g. less exposure of testing personnel) and cost effectiveness are part of the intended impact.
The work includes but is not limited to inspection methods such as muon imaging, wireless sensors integrated into waste packages as well as external package and facility monitoring such as remote fiber optical sensors. The sensors applied will go beyond radiation monitoring and include Proxy parameters important for long term integrity assessment (e. g. internal pressure). Sensors will also be made cost effective to allow the installation of much more sensors compared to current practice.
The measured data will be used in digital twins of the packages for specific simulations (geochemical, integrity) providing a prediction of future behavior. Machine Learning techniques trained by the characterization of older packages will help to connect the models to the actual data.
All data (measured and simulated) will be collected in a joint data base and connected to a decision framework to be used at actual facilities.
The presentation includes detailed information about the various tools under consideration, their connection and first results of our research.
The workpackage 7 of the EC funded project PREDIS deals with cemented low and intermediate level radioactive waste. The focus is on NDT/monitoring technologies, digiutal twins and data/decision frameworks to optimize facilitay and waste package management. The talk describes the project setup and planned activities.
News from NDT@BAM
(2021)
The presentation summarizes some recent research at BAM in the field of NDT in civil engineering. the firste xample decribes lab experiments on the degardation of concrete during tunnel fires. Radar measuremenst were sucessfully used to detect interior damage. The second example decribes the first ever experiment on using muon imaging to evaluate concrete constructions.
Due to increasing ageing, deterioration and loading , several prestressed concrete bridges bulit in the 1950ies and 1960ies need monitoring. Recently several bridges have sucesssfully equipped with acoustic emission sensing system. BAM works together with several universities on an add onn: Active ultrasonic monitoring combined with coda wave interferometry will help to detect subtle changes and precursors fo failure earlier than other methods.
Recent years have seen extended use of ultrasonic techniques for concrete infrastructure assessement. They are applied for quality assurance and condition assessement at bridges, power plants, dams and other important objects. However, there are still a couple of significant limitations. They include, but are not limited to depth of penetration, imaging complex structures or early stage detections of distributed damage. The talk will give information on recent research in this area. Specifically, the application of the unique deep penetration system LAUS is shown. Ultrasonic monitoring using embedded transducers to check for subtle and sudden changes in the material is introduced as well. Comments on initiatives for validation, standardization and certification will be given.
Die Überwachung von Bauteilen aus Stahl- oder Spannbeton mit Ultraschall hat in Labor- und Technikumsversuchen schon vielversprechende Ergebnisse gezeigt. Besonders gute Resultate wurden dabei mit eingebetteten Ultraschalltrans-ducern und bei Auswertung der Daten mit der hochsensiblen Codawelleninterferometrie erzielt. Erfasst werden können neben Temperatur- und Feuchteeffekten auch Belastungszustände und jegliche Art von Schädigung, die mit Mikro- oder Makrorissbildung einhergeht.
Seit 2019 untersucht die DFG-Forschergruppe 2825 „CoDA“ (Sprecher: Prof. Christoph Gehlen, TU München) ver-schiedenste Aspekte dieser innovativen Technologie mit dem Ziel, Einflussgrößen quantitativ zu erfassen, Umweltein-flüsse zu korrigieren und 3D-Auswerteverfahren zu verbessern. Final soll eine am Bauwerk einsatzfähige Methode ent-stehen, die klassische Monitoringverfahren ergänzt und erweitert sowie Input zu einem Update des statischen Systems liefert.
Aufgaben der BAM in der Forschergruppe ist neben Verbesserung und Adaptierung der Messsystem und Sensorik auch Langzeitversuche an einem Großobjekt und Testinstallationen an Realbauwerken. Hierzu liegen erste Ergebnisse vor, die zeigen, dass die Technologie auch außerhalb des Labors einsatzfähig ist.
NDE of foundations
(2019)
This talk teaches the basic princioles and applications of NDT methods for deep foundations, sprecifically piles. A variety of testing methods are discussed (integrity testing, ultrasonic crosshole logging, parallel seismic and others). Capabilities and limitations are given as well as specific hints for practical use.
The closure of underground nuclear waste disposal facilities requires reliable gas- and watertight engineered barriers. In Germany, barriers made from salt concrete have been evaluated in full scale. While the barriers seem to fulfill the requirements regarding permeability, some unexpected cracks have been detected at the surface and at depth. In cooperation between the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), several experiments have been carried out to evaluate the applicability for ultrasonic measurements in crack detection and general quality assurance. Both commercial instruments and specially developed devices have been tested on site. Using commercial ultrasonic echo devices designed for concrete inspection it was possible to detect cracks and object in salt concrete up to a depth of 2 m. The check for delamination in shotcrete is another field of application. A unique device available at BAM, the wide aperture, deep penetration instrument LAUS, was able to locate cracks and objects up to a depth of 8 m so far, which is thought to be a record for ultrasonic echo measurements in concrete. Adapted imaging procedures, partly adopted from geophysics, helped to reveal 3D structure at depth. In addition, we have developed ultrasonic probes to be deployed in boreholes, currently at up to 20 m depth. They can collect information on cracks and other features in a radius of about 1.5 m around the borehole in the current version and might be used in echo or transmission mode. Evaluation experiments have been performed at an experimental barrier at the ERAM site in Morsleben, Germany. The results showed several empty and injected cracks as well as built in instrumentation. The results have been verified using borehole endoscopy as well as core examination and will be used to set up a reliable quality assurance system for engineered barriers. All instruments are based on ultrasonic shear wave transducers with a frequency range between 25 kHz and 100 kHz. Current research focuses on the improvement of the hardware (e. g. optimization of array characteristics) and imaging techniques as Reverse Time Migration, both aiming at the improvement of depth of penetration, resolution and probability of detection.
PileInspect
(2019)
The EC funded project PileInspect (2013-2016) has tried to improve the traditional low strain pile integrity test by using a shaker instead of a hamm and sophisticated higher order spectra analysis methods to provide automated, reliable interpretation. However, the results, even if promising, have not seen full validation yet. A second module, providing depth information by regularized deconvolution, was developed and tested successfully, but doesn't deliver additional information compared tomteh traditioanl test.
The propagation of ultrasonic waves in concrete is affected by its micro- and macro-structure, geometry and properties as well as external influences as stress, temperature or moisture. In addition, age and degradation have a strong influence. Therefore, Ultrasound has been used to monitor concrete samples and structures since decades. However, early applications using conventional techniques as time-of flight or changes in amplitudes have been limited to detect changes in a late stage close to serviceability or ultimate load states.
Around 2000, several new, more sensitive techniques adopted from geophysics or other field of material sciences have been introduced to research in ultrasonic monitoring of concrete. The most discussed methodologies are coda wave interferometry, a technique which allows to detect very subtle changes from repeated ultrasonic measurements. Nonlinear acoustic techniques help to identify e. g. cracks even in an inhomogeneous background. Both techniques can be combined.
This paper reviews methods and results achieved so far on the laboratory scale and with full scale models the directions for future research and application is given as well.
Ultrasonic non-destructive testing methods have found various applications in quality assurance and condition assessment of nuclear concrete structures. This includes but is not limited to the localization of construction features (thickness measurements, reinforcement, tendon ducts, and others) and damage detection (e. g. corrosion or cracks). However, there are still limitations, e. g. limited penetration depth and resolution, issues when testing hybrid steel/concrete structures as well as absence of standards and regulations.
This presentation will show progress in some of these issues and will focus on advanced instrumentation and validation of ultrasonic NDT for concrete structures.
Ultrasonic echo testing has been limited to a penetration depth of less than one meter in reinforced concrete. The development of the LAUS (Large Aperture Ultrasonic System), using a large array of ultrasonic transducers and wider offsets between transmitter and receiver, allows to reach up to 5 m in reinforced concrete and 9 m in unreinforced concrete. This capability has been demonstrated by collecting data from an engineered salt concrete barrier in an underground nuclear waste storage facility. Due to an increasingly competitive environment, commercial manufacturers will continue to develop equipment with enhanced penetration and/or increased resolution.
To quantify the capabilities and reliability of ultrasonic tests, validation mockups with engineered flaws are required. EPRI and BAM have built a large-scale mockup at a test site close to Berlin (BAM-TTS, Horstwalde) using a design which is repeated at other places. This presentation will also cover the methods deployed on engineered flaws and the repeatability of the test results.
Ultrasonic transmission measurements are used to monitor concrete elements mostly on a laboratory scale since decades. Recently, coda wave interferometry, a technique adapted from seismology, has been introduced to civil engineering experiments. It can be used to reveal subtle changes in concrete samples and even large construction elements without having a transducer directly at the location where the change is taking place. The methodology works best with embedded transducers to avoid coupling issues or excessive environmental influence. These transducers can be used for newly built and existing structures. Recently, large concrete beams have been equipped with a network of transducers and loaded until failure. Using code wave interferometry, it was possible to visualize stress fields and damaged areas. This paper gives an overview of the state of the art, recent results achieved at BAM and a task list for further results and development.
Seismic methods are increasingly used to improve ultrasonic imaging and monitoring of concrete. At BAM, we are research mainly the use of Reverse Time Migration to get better images from ultrasonic echo data of thick, complex concrete structures. Coda wave interferometry is used to detect subtle changes in concrete constructions, e. g. using embedded ultasonic transducers.
Seismic interferometry (SI) deals either with the sensible detection of changes in the subsurface or with the reconstruction of virtual signals between two receivers by crosscorrelation of signals from diffuse sources. These concepts can be applied in NDT in civil engineering for various purposes, e. g. to detect changes in bridges. Here it is demonstrated using data from a reference structure on our test site. Practical applications can be expected in the very near future.
The ageing and decommissioning of nuclear concrete infrastructure (e. g. safety containments) as well as the building and closure of waste repositories gives new challenges to non-destructive testing. For example, the quality assurance of very thick concrete structures is beyond the limitations of commercial ultrasonic instrumentation.
The presentation introduces typical testing tasks and the application of state of the art NDT techniques. In addition, it describes some new developments in ultrasonic testing and monitoring. Specifically, the application of the unique deep penetration system LAUS is shown. Ultrasonic monitoring using embedded transducers to check for subtle and sudden changes in the material is introduced as well.
Fatigue is one of the most prevalent issues, which directly influences the service life expectancy of concrete structures. Fatigue has been investigated for years for steel structures. However, recent findings suggest that concrete structures may also be significantly subjected to the fatigue phenomena that could lead to premature failure of certainfatigue prone structural elements. To date, fatigue of reinforced concrete has been given little focus. and Kknowledge on the influence factors and durability/capacity effects on this material should be improved. Current technological means to measure fatigue in civil structures like bridges and wind turbines (both onshore and offshore) are outdated, imprecise and inappropriate.
Meanwhile, this topic has got much more attention as dynamic loading on concrete structures plays an increasing role, e.g. in bridges with increasing traffic and heavier trucks, in wind energy production due to inherent vibrations e.g. in offshore wind turbine support structures affected by wind and waves.
The European Innovative Training Networks (ITN) Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project INFRASTAR (Innovation and Networking for Fatigue and Reliability Analysis of Structures - Training for Assessment of Risk) provides research training for 12 PhD students. The project aims to improve knowledge for optimizing the design of new structures as well as for more realistic verification of structural safety and more accurate prediction of the remaining fatigue lifetime of existing structures.
First, the INFRASTAR research framework is detailed. Then it will be exemplified through the presentation of the major results of the four PhD students involved in the work package dealing with auscultation and monitoring. This includes the development and improvement of Fiber Optics (FO) and Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI) for crack sizing and imagery, new sensor technologies and integration, information management, monitoring strategy for fatigue damage investigation and lifetime prediction.
The LAUS: First applications of a new system for ultrasonic imaging of very concrete structures
(2018)
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.
Previous work has shown that ultrasonic monitoring using externally applied or embedded transducers and imaging methods based on coda wave interferometry are able to detect subtle changes in concrete elements. In this study, a limited number of embedded transducers has been used to monitor changes in several 12 m long two-span concrete beams subjected to point or linear loads until failure.
The ultrasonic results showed the high sensitivity to stress changes and the nonlinear character of the associated effects. However, the ultrasonic features showed a very good correlation to several conventional monitoring parameters. For higher loads (significant amount of cracking), the technique had to be modified to cope with large wave velocity variations and high decorrelation compared to the reference signal.
Using a very simple imaging procedure, the 2D stress field inside the beam has been visualized including inhomogeneities and artifact at places where cracking occurred at higher loads. The technique has the potential to be included in real time monitoring systems.
Foundations
(2018)
Ultrasound echo is a widely used NDT technique for determining the internal geometry of structures. Reverse-time migration (RTM) has been recently introduced to NDT applications, as an imaging method for ultrasound data, to overcome some of the limitations (e.g. imaging steeply dipping reflector) experienced by the Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT), the most commonly used imaging algorithm for these measurements.
The standard implementation of RTM also experiences some drawbacks caused by its imaging condition, which is based on the zero-lag of the cross-correlation between source and receiver wavefields and generates high-amplitude low-frequency artifacts. Three alternative imaging conditions, developed for seismic data applications, were tested for their ability to provide better images than the standard cross-correlation: illumination compensation, deconvolution and wavefield decomposition. A polyamide specimen was chosen for the simulation of a synthetic experiment and for real data acquisition. The migrations of both synthetic and real data were performed with the software Madagascar. The illumination imaging condition was able to reduce the low-frequency noise and had a good performance in terms of computing time. The deconvolution improved the resolution in the synthetic tests, but did not showed such benefit for the real experiments. Finally, as for the wavefield decomposition, although it presented some advantages in terms of attenuating the low-frequency noise and some unwanted reflections, it was not able to image the internal structure of the polyamide as well as the cross-correlation did. Suggestions on how to improve the cost-effectiveness of the implementation of the deconvolution and wavefield decomposition were presented, as well as possible investigations that could be carried out in the future, in order to obtain better results with those two imaging conditions.
Informationen zu in Betonbauteilen stattfindenden Umlagerungsprozessen sowie Druckspannungsverteilungen können mit konventioneller Messtechnik bislang nicht zweifelsfrei beantwortet werden. Ultraschallmessungen mit eingebetteten Sensoren könnten hier eine sinnvolle Ergänzung zur konventionellen Messtechnik sein. Durch Einsatz der Codawelleninterferometrie (CWI) sind hiermit schon sehr kleine Änderungen im Material detektierbar.
Um diese neue Methodik zu evaluieren, wurde das Forschungsprojekt „Querkrafttragfähigkeit von Spannbetonbrücken – Erfassung von Spannungszuständen in den Spannbetonversuchsträgern mit Ultraschallsensoren“ durch die Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) initiiert. In diesem Projekt wurden durch die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM) Ultraschall-Transducer in mehrere Spannbetonträger des Instituts für Massivbau der RWTH Aachen eingebettet, die anschließend bis zum Bruch belastet wurden.
Der Belastungsversuch an einem der Spannbetondurchlaufträger zeigte das große Potential dieser Methodik. Die im Netzwerk erfassten Änderungen der Ultraschallwellengeschwindigkeit geben die Spannungsverhältnisse im Längsschnitt des Trägers schon bei sehr niedrigen Belastungen qualitativ richtig wieder und zeigen bei hohen Belastungen eine gute Korrelation zum Rissbild. Dabei weisen räumliche Anomalien und Änderungen in der Charakteristik der Geschwindigkeitsänderungen oft schon auf Rissbildung hin, wenn diese noch nicht an der Oberfläche sichtbar ist. Dies zeigt das Potential im Hinblick auf eine Frühwarnung. Hierfür und ebenso in Bezug auf eine Quantifizierung der Effekte ist aber noch Entwicklungsarbeit notwendig. Ein Vorteil der Methodik ist, dass die Transducer nicht direkt am Ort der Änderung platziert werden müssen und einen relativ großen Bereich um die Transducer herum erfassen.
LAUS - Erste praktische Erfahrungen mit einem neuartigen Ultraschallsystem großer Eindringtiefe
(2018)
Konventionelle Systeme zur Ultraschall-Echo-Prüfung von Betonbauteilen sind in ihrer Eindringtiefe auf etwa einem Meter begrenzt. Zur Prüfung stärkerer Objekte war die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Prüfsystems notwendig. Das LAUS-System (Large Aperture UltraSound) besteht aus 12 einzelnen Arrays, die mit jeweils 32 Einzelprüfköpfen (Scherwellen, 25 – 50 kHz) als Sender oder Empfänger betrieben werden können. Sie werden unabhängig auf Betonoberflächen mit Unterdruck befestigt und kommunizieren drahtlos untereinander und mit der Zentraleinheit. Alle möglichen Kombinationen ergeben 132 Einzelmessungen, die zur Rekonstruktion des durchschallten Volumens genutzt werden. Mehrere dieser Datensätze lassen sich zu einer 3D-Auswertung kombinieren. Das System wurde an mehreren Testobjekten und Bauwerken erfolgreich erprobt. So konnte die fünf Meter dicke, sehr stark bewehrte Fundamentplatte des Fallturms auf dem BAM-Testgelände bei Horstwalde durchschallt werden. Ein zweites Beispiel ist die erfolgreiche Detektion von Spannkanälen in 1,8 m Tiefe in einem massiven Brückenbauwerk.
Der Blick in die Brücke
(2018)
Foundations
(2017)
Modern geophysical methods might be either directly applied to concrete structures or integrated into existing testing schemes to assist in quality assurance and inspections. This paper gives an overview on some ideas and developments from the author’s work:
• Vibrator technologies to improve pile integrity testing.
• Ideas from vertical seismic profiling used in multichannel pile inspection
• Cross- and downhole seismics to check the diameter of jet grouting columns
• Improving the parallel seismic methods for precise length measurement of piles and foundation walls
• Seismic migration methods to improve ultrasonic imaging of foundation slabs
• Seismological tools to monitor subtle changes in concrete constructions
The authors strongly believe that the cooperation between geophysics and civil engineering, which is obviously becoming stronger and stronger, will lead to a large number of innovative approaches.
Bridge monitoring using embedded ultrasonics First results from the BLEIB reference structure
(2017)
The BLEIB reference structure The structure is a two-span, 24 m long inverse u-shaped post-tensioned concrete beam. Fibre optic sensing cables, RFID sensors and ultrasonic transducers are permanently embedded. Other sensing techniques (vibrational, optical, ultrasonic, mechanical) are applied externally. Tension can be adjusted. Loads can be placed at arbitrary locations. Limited damage is introduced to one span. The BLEIB reference structure is located at BAM‘s test site in Horstwalde, south of Berlin. Ultrasonic transducer before concreting.
Embedded ultrasonic transducers 14 piezo transducers have been embedded before concreting. They are located in five sections, two close to the centers of both spans respectively and one above the central bearing.
Load experiment and data evaluation In a first experiment load 2 (weight 2 t) was moved three times along the southern (right) span. The tension forces were modified as well.
Ultrasonic transmission measurements were repeated over time and evaluated using Coda Wave Interferomerry (CWI), which determines correlation coefficients and relative velocity changes as subtle indicators for loads and other changes in the material.
Seismic wave velocities are related to elastic moduli and other properties and can serve as indicators for changes in the material. They are conventionally determined by active measurements. Using ideas from seismic interferometry determination from stacked cross-correlations of registrations of man-made and natural noise (“passive seimics“) is an effective alternative, as these data might be available from vibration monitoring anyway. The validity of this approach is demonstrated by a simple experiment based on recordings of man made noise using accelerometers at the reference structure. The s-wave (or more probable. guided wave) velocity was determined to be 2100 m/s in both active and passive experiments.
Seismic wave velocities are related to elastic moduli and other properties and can serve as indicators for changes in the material. They are conventionally determined by active measurements. Using ideas from seismic interferometry Determination from stacked cross-correlations of registrations of man- made and natural noise (“passive seimics“) is an effective alternative, as these data might be available from vibration monitoring anyway. The validity of this approach is demonstrated by a simple experiment based on recordings of man made noise using accelerometers at the reference structure. The s-wave (or more probable. guided wave) velocity was determined to be 2100 m/s in both active and passive experiments.
Das Ultraschall-Echo-Verfahren ist eine wichtige Methode der zerstörungsfreien Prüfung (ZfP). Prüfaufgaben im Bauwesen beinhalten unter anderem die korrekte Dickenbestimmung von Konstruktionen, sowie die Lokalisierung von Einbauteilen und Fehlstellen. Das Abbildungsverfahren RTM (Reverse Time Migration) liefert oft bessere Bilder als konventionelle Verfahren. Die Datenaufnahme am Betonprobekörper erfolgte mit einem Scannersystem der BAM, bei dem jeweils ein Ultraschall-Prüfkopf als Sender bzw. Empfänger diente. Es wurden senkrecht zur Profilrichtung horizontal polarisierte Scherwellen genutzt. Die RTM wurde mit dem Softwarepaket Madagascar gerechnet.
Die Ergebnis zeigt das Potential dieser Methode im Bezug auf komplexe Strukturen. Die lateralen Positionen der Risse im RTM-Bild sowie deren Höhe innerhalb des Probekörpers, entsprechen recht genau dem visuellen Befund.
Die Coda transmittierter Ultraschallsignale in Beton enthält Informationen zu Struktur und Zustand des Materials bzw. deren Änderung. Relevant sind u. a. Temperatur, Stress, Feuchtigkeit und verschiedene Schädigungsmechanismen. Die zahlreichen Einflussfaktoren sind nur schwer zu trennen und die Messeffekte oft zu Beginn sehr klein.Die CWI ermöglicht die Detektion kleinster Geschwindigkeitsveränderungen durch den Vergleich, der in kleinen Schritten gestauchten oder gestreckten Signalen mit eine Referenzmessung. Andere Indikatoren für Änderungen im Material sind:
• Kreuzkorrelation
• Laufzeit direkte Welle
• Energie/Amplitude
• Änderungen im Frequenzspektrum
Die beschriebene Technik wird von uns bisher primär in klein- und großskaligen Laborversuchen genutzt. Die Forschung konzentriert sich auf die Untersuchung und Trennung verschiedener Einflusseffekte. Aber auch erste reale Bauwerke wurden schon instrumentiert, z. B. Brücken und eine Tunneldecke.
Im rahmen des themenfeldprojektes LEBEWIND wurden Vorversuche zur Ultraschallprüfung von Groutverbindungen an Offshore-Windenergieanlagen gemacht. Die Experimente mit kommerzieller Prüftechnik in Echo und Transmission durch die Stahlwandung hindurch bestätigten, dass diese Bauweise so nicht prüfbar ist.
Vor einer geplanten Weiter- oder Wiedernutzung von Bestandsfundamenten stellt sich die Frage nach deren Lage, Geometrie und Zustand im Untergrund. Hierfür gibt es verschiedene Prüfverfahren. Im Projekt REFUND (2014-2016) wurden unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Normen und des Standes der Technik Ablaufdiagramme für die Planung der Wiedernutzung und die Untersuchung des Bestandes entwickelt. Dies geschah getrennt für Einzel- und Streifenfundamente, Platten und Pfähle. An zwei Praxisbeispielen wurden die Abläufe getestet und optimiert. Die Ergebnisse wurden in einem Handbuch kompiliert, das bei der TU Darmstadt erscheint.
The presentation will give an overview on non-destructive testing techniques being developed at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany (BAM). This includes ultrasonic methods, ground penetration radar, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), infrared thermography, pile testing, sensor technology and building scanner. A focus of the talk will be ultrasonic methods, which are well established in various aspects of concrete testing. They are used for imaging the interior geometry of constructions, estimation of concrete strength or monitoring lab investigations. However, so far the detection of distributed damages, especially in an early stage, has been almost impossible. The arrival of new technologies as embedded transducers and sensitive data processing techniques adopted from seismology has opened new field of work. Recent research has been focused to detect changes in concrete elements induced by stress, temperature, moisture or chemical attacks by permanent monitoring. Techniques as Coda Wave Interferometry can resolve changes in ultrasonic velocity in the order of 1*10-5. In addition, many researchers believe that the investigation of nonlinear effects can be used to characterize damages. The presentation will give a wrap up of ultrasonic techniques currently used in practice. This will include echo based methods as multi-channel/multi-offset imaging of structural elements using commercial and prototype devices. Imaging methods as SAFT and RTM will be shortly discussed. The focus will be on the emerging techniques used for monitoring. New types of sensors will be presented as well as the devices used in laboratory and field applications. Insight will be given on the various influence factors on ultrasonic signals and various ways of feature extraction and data processing. The results of lab experiments will be shown to demonstrate the detection of various kind of damages from mechanical load, ASR, corrosion to fatigue. The experiences with our first installations in real constructions (bridges, tunnel) will also be presented.
The presentation will give an overview on non-destructive testing techniques being developed at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany (BAM). This includes ultrasonic methods, ground penetration radar, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), infrared thermography, pile testing, sensor technology and building scanner. A focus of the talk will be ultrasonic methods, which are well established in various aspects of concrete testing. They are used for imaging the interior geometry of constructions, estimation of concrete strength or monitoring lab investigations. However, so far the detection of distributed damages, especially in an early stage, has been almost impossible. The arrival of new technologies as embedded transducers and sensitive data processing techniques adopted from seismology has opened new field of work. Recent research has been focused to detect changes in concrete elements induced by stress, temperature, moisture or chemical attacks by permanent monitoring. Techniques as Coda Wave Interferometry can resolve changes in ultrasonic velocity in the order of 1*10-5. In addition, many researchers believe that the investigation of nonlinear effects can be used to characterize damages. The presentation will give a wrap up of ultrasonic techniques currently used in practice. This will include echo based methods as multi-channel/multi-offset imaging of structural elements using commercial and prototype devices. Imaging methods as SAFT and RTM will be shortly discussed. The focus will be on the emerging techniques used for monitoring. New types of sensors will be presented as well as the devices used in laboratory and field applications. Insight will be given on the various influence factors on ultrasonic signals and various ways of feature extraction and data processing. The results of lab experiments will be shown to demonstrate the detection of various kind of damages from mechanical load, ASR, corrosion to fatigue. The experiences with our first installations in real constructions (bridges, tunnel) will also be presented.
Ultrasonic methods are well established in various aspects of concrete testing. They are used for imaging the interior geometry of constructions, estimation of concrete strength or monitoring lab investigations. However, so far the detection of distributed damages, especially in an early stage, has been almost impossible. The arrival of new technologies as embedded transducers and sensitive data processing techniques adopted from seismology has opened new field of work. Recent research has been focused to detect changes in concrete elements induced by stress, temperature, moisture or chemical attacks by permanent monitoring. Techniques as Coda Wave Interferometry can resolve changes in ultrasonic velocity in the order of 1*10-5. In addition, many researchers believe that the investigation of nonlinear effects can be used to characterize damages. The presentation will give a wrap up of ultrasonic techniques currently used in practice. This will include echo based methods as multi-channel/multi-offset imaging of structural elements using commercial and prototype devices. Imaging methods as SAFT and RTM will be shortly discussed. The focus will be on the emerging techniques used for monitoring. New types of sensors will be presented as well as the devices used in laboratory and field applications. Insight will be given on the various influence factors on ultrasonic signals and various ways of feature extraction and data processing. The results of lab experiments will be shown to demonstrate the detection of various kind of damages from mechanical load, ASR, corrosion to fatigue. The experiences with or first installations in real constructions (bridges, tunnel) will also be presented.
Ultrasonic methods are well established in various aspects of concrete testing. They are used for imaging the interior geometry of constructions, estimation of concrete strength or monitoring lab investigations. However, so far the detection of distributed damages, especially in an early stage, has been almost impossible. The arrival of new technologies as embedded transducers and sensitive data processing techniques adopted from seismology has opened new field of work. Recent research has been focused to detect changes in concrete elements induced by stress, temperature, moisture or chemical attacks by permanent monitoring. Techniques as Coda Wave Interferometry can resolve changes in ultrasonic velocity in the order of 1*10-5. In addition, many researchers believe that the investigation of nonlinear effects can be used to characterize damages.
The workshop will give a wrap up of ultrasonic techniques currently used in practice. This will include echo based methods as multi-channel/multi-offset imaging of structural elements using commercial and prototype devices. Imaging methods as SAFT and RTM will be shortly discussed.
The focus will be on the emerging techniques used for monitoring. New types of sensors will be presented as well as the devices used in laboratory and field applications. Insight will be given on the various influence factors on ultrasonic signals and various ways of feature extraction and data processing. The results of lab experiments will be shown to demonstrate the detection of various kind of damages from mechanical load, ASR, corrosion to fatigue. The experiences with or first installations in real constructions (bridges, tunnel) will also be presented.
Presentation on recent progress in ultrasinic testing and monitoring of concrete for massive structures. First, a new instrument (LAUS) for ultrasonic echo testing of thicknesses up to 5 m is shown. A new method to provide better images of the concrete interior, Reverse Mitem Migration (RTM)is presented. Second, the use of embedded ultrasonic transducers and data processing methods borrowed from seismology to detect subtle changes in concrete are documented.
Im Rahmen der Lebensdauerverlängerung oder der Umnutzung von Bauwerken (z. B. Brücken, Bürogebäude oder Maste) müssen diese zum Teil neu bewertet werden. Dafür ist eine Nachrechnung für statische und dynamische Lastfälle erforderlich. Dies betrifft zum einen die Struktur selbst, die gegebenenfalls verstärkt werden muss. Aber auch die Gründung (oft Pfähle verschiedenster Typen) muss neu beurteilt werden. Nach mehreren Jahrzehnten sind jedoch für einige Bauwerke keine zuverlässigen Bestandsunterlagen verfügbar.
Eine vollständige Freilegung der Pfähle verbietet sich aus Kostengründen sowie Verlust an Widerstand gegen Zug. Lediglich der Pfahlanschluss kann visuell begutachtet werden, um Pfahlzahl, -typ und Durchmesser zu bestimmen. Für die Bestimmung der Pfahllänge müssen zerstörungsfreie Verfahren eingesetzt werden. In einer Machbarkeitsstudie wurden von den Autoren teils im Blindversuch drei Verfahren evaluiert: die klassische Pfahlintegritätsprüfung nach der Hammerschlagmethode, eine mehrkanalige Variante hierzu und das Parallel-Seismik-Verfahren. Die ersten beiden Methoden lieferten an den untersuchten Pfählen nur in Einzelfällen verwertbare Ergebnisse. Die Parallel-Seismik-Methode lieferte auch im Blindversuch an Fundamenten, bei denen die Pfahllänge dem Eigentümer bekannt war, Ergebnisse mit einer Abweichung von max. 0,5 m. Diese Toleranz lässt sich bei der Standfestigkeitsbeurteilung berücksichtigen. Die Mehrkosten des Verfahrens (anders als bei den anderen Verfahren wird ein verrohrtes Bohrloch im Boden nahe dem Pfahl benötigt) halten sich in Grenzen, wenn man es in die geotechnische Untersuchung integriert. Daher wurde es inzwischen auch in der Praxis eingesetzt. Auch liegen die Gesamtkosten für die Untersuchung deutlich unter denen für eventuell notwendigen Ersatz – oder Verstärkungsmaßnahmen, die notwendig werden, wenn keine Daten zur Pfahllänge verfügbar sind.
Der Vortrag erläutert die Ergebnisse der Machbarkeitsstudie, zeigt erste Praxisfälle und weist auf Möglichkeiten hin, das Parallel-Seismik Verfahren in Zukunft noch genauer und effizienter einzusetzen.
Im Rahmen der Lebensdauerverlängerung oder der Umnutzung von Bauwerken (z. B. Brücken, Bürogebäude oder Maste) müssen diese zum Teil neu bewertet werden. Dafür ist eine Nachrechnung für statische und dynamische Lastfälle erforderlich. Dies betrifft zum einen die Struktur selbst, die gegebenenfalls verstärkt werden muss. Aber auch die Gründung (oft Pfähle verschiedenster Typen) muss neu beurteilt werden. Nach mehreren Jahrzehnten sind jedoch für einige Bauwerke keine zuverlässigen Bestandsunterlagen verfügbar.
Eine vollständige Freilegung der Pfähle verbietet sich aus Kostengründen sowie Verlust an Widerstand gegen Zug. Lediglich der Pfahlanschluss kann visuell begutachtet werden, um Pfahlzahl, -typ und Durchmesser zu bestimmen. Für die Bestimmung der Pfahllänge müssen zerstörungsfreie Verfahren eingesetzt werden. In einer Machbarkeitsstudie wurden von den Autoren teils im Blindversuch drei Verfahren evaluiert: die klassische Pfahlintegritätsprüfung nach der Hammerschlagmethode, eine mehrkanalige Variante hierzu und das Parallel-Seismik-Verfahren. Die ersten beiden Methoden lieferten an den untersuchten Pfählen nur in Einzelfällen verwertbare Ergebnisse. Die Parallel-Seismik-Methode lieferte auch im Blindversuch an Fundamenten, bei denen die Pfahllänge dem Eigentümer bekannt war, Ergebnisse mit einer Abweichung von max. 0,5 m. Diese Toleranz lässt sich bei der Standfestigkeitsbeurteilung berücksichtigen. Die Mehrkosten des Verfahrens (anders als bei den anderen Verfahren wird ein verrohrtes Bohrloch im Boden nahe dem Pfahl benötigt) halten sich in Grenzen, wenn man es in die geotechnische Untersuchung integriert. Daher wurde es inzwischen auch in der Praxis eingesetzt. Auch liegen die Gesamtkosten für die Untersuchung deutlich unter denen für eventuell notwendigen Ersatz – oder Verstärkungsmaßnahmen, die notwendig werden, wenn keine Daten zur Pfahllänge verfügbar sind.
Der Vortrag erläutert die Ergebnisse der Machbarkeitsstudie, zeigt erste Praxisfälle und weist auf Möglichkeiten hin, das Parallel-Seismik Verfahren in Zukunft noch genauer und effizienter einzusetzen.
Modern geophysical methods might be either directly applied to foundations or integrated into existing testing schemes to assist in quality assurance and inspections. This paper gives an overview on available ideas and some more detailed examples from the author `s work including:
- Vibrator technologies to improve pile integrity testing.
- Ideas from vertical seismic profiling used in multichannel pile inspection
- Cross- and downhole seismics to check the diameter of jet grouting columns
- Improving the parallel seismic methods for precise length measurement of piles and foundation walls
Seismic migration methods to improve ultrasonic imaging of foundation slabs
Seismological tools to monitor subtle changes in concrete constructions
The author strongly believes that the cooperation between geophysics and civil engineering, which is obviously becoming stronger and stronger, will lead to a large number of innovative approaches for investigations tasks currently still unresolved. A lot of challenges and chances for science and technology are right here.
Numerous case histories show evidence that geophysical methods are valuable tools for levee inspection and monitoring. National and international standards and recommendations recommend the use of geophysics for a variety of tasks. However, in some cases reported have been flaws missed or false indications given. Due to the larger variety in type, size and construction of levees and the even larger variety of potential tasks and targets the success of geophysical surveys still pretty much depends on the available budget and the experience and capabilities of the clients and contractors involved. It is strongly recommended that all relevant parties agree on the detailed objectives of the survey, required accuracy and reliability of the results and any follow up measures. For the most common tasks more research and practical work using techniques as POD (probability of detection), which are well established in other fields of non-destructive testing, would be of benefit.
Concrete is known to be a very useful, flexible and durable construction material. However, due to excess load, fatigue, chemical processes, freeze-thaw or reinforcement corrosion concrete may suffer from degradation. If detected too late, repair is difficult and expensive.
The propagation of ultrasonic waves is influenced by changes in the properties and structure of the material, including, but not limited to, stress, temperature, moisture content and microcracking. Ultrasonic velocieties thus may serve as indicators for structural health. Traditional ultrasonic methods as transmission time of flight measurements are used since decades, but are not sensible enough to show subtle changes. Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI), originally developed in seismology to detect stress changes in the earth's crust uses the information in the late part of ultrasonic signals originating from multiple reflections and scattering. Since a few years it is used by several researchers for lab experiments on concrete.
Meanwhile specialized sensors to be embedded in concrete have been developed. We have conducted several lab and a few field experiments, which will be reported here. The capabilities and limitations of CWI are summarized.
Innovative seismic and resistivity tools for determining the diameter of jet grouting columns
(2016)
Jet grouting is used for soil improvement, foundation support and groundwater low control all over the world. It is well accepted and subject of standardization in many countries. However, some issues with the method remain. As the grout columns are produced in the subsurface without visual control in an often inhomogeneous soil, the prediction of the column’s diameter is still a challenge. All methods applied so far have their limitations.
The approach presented in this study is twofold. At Colorado School of Mines a resistivity probe has been developed, which is pushed into the fresh grout directly after production. ERT sections are measured and inverted. Given some background information is available, the diameter of the columns can be evaluated.
At BAM the focus has been on post-production investigations using seismic borehole methods. After hardening of the concrete seismic waves are sent through the column downhole (sensors placed in a casing in the column’s axis, source on top) and crosshole (source and sensor in boreholes on opposite sides of the column). We have developed a scheme to evaluate the diameter of the column based on travel time measurements without calibration. As this method is eventually more time and cost intensive we assume its application mainly for test columns. These are casted and dug out for visual inspection to determine appropriate grouting parameters. Our method would replace the often very cost intensive visual inspection.
Both approaches have been tested at three test columns produced at BAM’s test site at Horstwalde, Germany and on an actual constructions site. Both methods have been in good agreement with the diameters predicted by the jet grouting contractors, which were confirmed in one case by mechanical measurements.