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The often poor construction and low maintenance level of tailings dams has caused serious accidents. The EC funded Project TAILSAFE is aimed at the non-destructive assessment of tailings facilities for stabilization analyses and the development of better management methods.
The focus of geophysical field studies was on the discrimination of different layering and construction steps as well as the determination of the spatial (relative) water content in the dams. SIP measurements at three tailings facilities different in their geological backgrounds, composition and age have been conducted.
Ultrasonic echo and transmission techniques are used in civil engineering on a regular basis. New sensors and data processing techniques have lead to many new applications in the structural investigation as well as quality control. But concrete structures in the nuclear sector have special features and parameters, which pose problems for the methods and instrumentation currently available, e.g. extreme thickness, dense reinforcement, steel liners or special materials. Several innovative ultrasonic techniques have been developed to deal with these issues at least partly in lab experiments and pilot studies. Modern imaging techniques as multi-offset SAFT have been used e. g. to map delaminations. Thick concrete walls have successfully been inspected, partly through a steel liner. Embedded ultrasonic sensors have been designed which will be used in monitoring networks of large concrete structures above and below ground. In addition, sensitive mathematical methods as coda wave interferometry have been successfully evaluated to detect subtle changes in material properties. Examples of measurements and data evaluation are presented.
Time reversal techniques are used in ocean acoustics, medical imaging and non-destructive evaluation to backpropagate recorded signals to the source of origin. We demonstrate experimentally a technique which improves the temporal focus achieved at the source location. The experiment consists of propagating a signal from a transducer within a concrete block to a single receiver on the surface, and then applying time reversal or deconvolution to focus the energy back at the source location. The results show that we are able to generate a focus in time at the correct location. The proposed method is simple and proven to be robust. Additionally, its costs are negligible due to deconvolution being a preprocessing step to the recorded data. The technique can be applied for detailed investigation of the source mechanisms (e. g. cracks) but also for monitoring purposes.
Ultraschallverfahren haben sich im Bauwesen in den letzten Jahren immer mehr in der Praxis etabliert. Echomessungen zur Geometriebestimmung sind Stand der Technik. In der Wissenschaft gibt es zahlreiche Ideen, die Messmethodik und die Auswertung weiter zu verbessern sowie den Einsatzbereich zu erweitern. Erste eingebettete Ultraschallsysteme zum Langzeitmonitoring sind installiert, Mehrkanalgeräte ermöglichen immer größere Aperturen und Eindringtiefen, verbesserte Abbildungsverfahren zeigen immer mehr Details. Zusätzlich lassen sich Verfahren aus der Geophysik adaptieren, die weiteren Fortschritt versprechen. Die Seismische Interferometrie dient klassisch dazu, Materialeigenschaften des Erduntergrundes mittels seismischer Wellen zu bestimmen. Derzeitige Anwendungsbereiche sind die Verbesserung seismischer Abbildungsverfahren, Interpolation seismischer Spuren (A-Scans), Bestimmung von Quellparametern oder die Eliminierung unerwünschter Signale in passiven und aktiven Experimenten, hauptsächlich durch Kreuzkorrelation und Bestimmung Greenscher Funktionen. Diese Techniken können auch auf Ultraschalldaten, die an Betonkonstruktionen erfasst wurden, angewendet werden. Moderne Abbildungsverfahren benötigen eine möglichst hohe A-Scan-Dichte und eine genaue Kenntnis des Quellsignals. Beides ist nicht unbedingt gegeben, z. B. wegen der physischen Größe der Sensoren und wechselnder Ankopplungsbedingungen. In simulierten und realen Experimenten wurden interferometrische Methoden zur Lösung dieser Aufgabenstellungen evaluiert. Es zeigt sich, dass fehlende A-Scans kinematisch korrekt interpoliert werden können, wenn ausreichend viele Sender- und Empfängerpositionen genutzt wurden. Amplituden und Signalform sind verändert, können aber durch adaptive Filterung angepasst werden. Die Quellsignalform kann mit hoher Genauigkeit rekonstruiert werden. Die Ergebnisse können potentiell zu einer Verbesserung der Abbildung des Inneren der untersuchten Objekte genutzt werden.
Sealing and strengthening of the subsoil by injection is a major issue in the field of geotechnical engineering. This involves also jet grouting, which allows creating columns of grouted soil by eroding and mixing the in-situ soil with a thin cement suspension. A general difficulty of this method is to predict the column diameter and its material strength. Here, we present two-dimensional finite-difference numerical simulation results of a promising non-destructive quality assurance testing tool to evaluate the diameter of jet grout columns. This approach incorporates crosshole and downhole seismic measurements. Preliminary tests showed that this tool is applicable under real site conditions.
Sealing and strengthening of the subsoil by injection is a major issue in the field of geotechnical engineering. One commonly applied method is jet grouting, which allows creating columns of grouted soil by eroding and mixing the in-situ soil with a thin cement suspension. A general difficulty linked with this method is to predict the resulting column diameter and its material strength. In this paper we illustrate the application of a newly developed non-destructive quality assurance testing tool used to determine the diameter of jet grout columns. This approach incorporates standard crosshole and downhole seismic measurements. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we tested the new approach within two-dimensional finite-difference numerical simulations. Additional field tests showed that this tool is also applicable in real site conditions. For this purpose, three jet grout columns were produced with different process parameters in a depth between 3.0 and 10 m. The evaluated diameters were within 1.0 and 1.5 m, slightly deviating from the previously predicted range by the jet grouting contractor. Moreover, we were able to detect the base of the columns at 10 m depth with no significant difficulties. On the other hand, unsaturated, partly unconsolidated sands between ground water level and surface considerably affected the seismic data, hence complicating the detection of the top of the columns.
Challenging new constructions and ageing infrastructure are increasing the demand for permanent monitoring of loads and condition. Various methods and sensors are used for this purpose. But the technologies available today have difficulties in detecting slowly progressing locally confined damages. Extensive investigations or instrumentations are required so far for this purpose. In this study we present new sensors and data processing methods for ultrasonic transmission, which can be used for non-destructive long term monitoring of concrete. They can be mounted during construction or thereafter. Larger volumes can be monitored by a limited number of sensors for changes of material properties. The principles of ultrasonic transmission and influencing factors are presented. This latter include load, damages as well as environmental parameters as temperature or moisture. Various methods for data processing, e. g. coda wave interferometry are introduced. They allow the detection of very small changes in the medium. The embedded sensors are shown including mounting and operation. Application examples so far include small scale laboratory freeze-thaw experiments, localizing loads in larger concrete models, monitoring load effects on real structures as well as detecting acoustic events. Some sensors are operating already for several years. The sensors can be used as transmitter or receivers or switched between both roles. While most of the previous experiments have been active (at least one sensor serving as transmitter), new studies show that the sensors are useful as well for passive measurements, e. g. in acoustic emission or time reversal experiments. Besides application in civil engineering our setups can also be used for model studies in geosciences.
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.
Geophysical methods have been used in civil engineering for decades. The main field of application is - to no surprise – in geotechnical projects from site characterization to foundation quality assurance. For more than 25 years, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and seismic methods have found applications in structural engineering. Recently introduced geophysical methods have been adopted to ultrasonic investigations in various fields. They help to improve the quality of structural imaging and to detect small changes in concrete. An overview of the history and current use of geophysics in civil engineering is given. Selected examples of new concepts include advances in wave based imaging, quality assurance for foundations, detecting small changes in concrete as well as moisture and corrosion detection are discussed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sealing and strengthening of the subsoil by grout injection is a major issue in the field of geotechnical engineering. One commonly applied method is jet grouting, which allows creating columns of grouted soil by eroding and mixing the in-situ soil with a thin cement suspension. A general difficulty linked with this method is in predicting the resulting column diameter and its material strength. In this paper, we illustrate the application of a newly developed non-destructive quality assurance tool used to determine the diameter of jet grout columns. This approach incorporates standard crosshole and downhole seismic measurements. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we tested the new approach within two-dimensional finite-difference numerical simulations. Additional field tests showed that this tool is also applicable in real site conditions. For this purpose, three jet grout columns were produced with different process parameters in a depth between 3 and 10 m. The evaluated diameters were within 1 and 1.5 m, slightly deviating from the previously predicted range by the jet grouting contractor. Moreover, we were able to detect the base of the columns at a 10-m depth with no significant difficulties. On the other hand, unsaturated, less compacted sands between the groundwater level and surface considerably affected the seismic data, hence complicating the detection of the top of the columns.
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 deep penetration ultrasonic echo devices, new imaging techniques, embedded transducers for permanent monitoring and sensitive data processing techniques adopted from seismology have opened new fields of work. Recent research has been focused to detect changes in concrete elements induced by stress, temperature, moisture or chemical attacks.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For decades, the low-strain impact integrity testing using a hammer blow is well established as a method of quality assurance for various pile types. However, this method has its limitations. Our research and development focuses on improving the excitation signal using a shaker system in contrast to the standard hammer method. Another approach is to increase the amount of sensors used during testing. The purpose is to identify the direction of wave propagation which gives advantages under difficult conditions, such as piles below structures.
Pile integrity testing (PIT) using a shaker system was performed on two 11 m long piles of 90 cm in diameter. While one pile was intact, the other one showed a flaw at approx. 3.5 m below pile top, which was confirmed by standard PIT in 2012. A logarithmic sweep between 500 Hz and 1 KHz of 0.1 s was used as the input signal, being vertically injected into the pile. Prior to that, simulations on similar pile geometries showed that the depth of the pile toe as well as flaws within the pile can be extracted by applying regularized deconvolution. The result is the impulse response in the time domain.
The application of deconvolution on the measured signals shows that it is possible to identify the pile length but it is more difficult to clearly extract the flaw’s position in the pile. Additional digital signal processing techniques and the improvement of the regularized deconvolution method as well as the experimental setup need to be investigated.
Another way to improve the PIT method is to use a multichannel sensor arrangement. By arranging several accelerometers vertically along the accessible part of the pile shaft, it is possible to distinguish between downward and upward traveling waves. Furthermore, it is possible to estimate the unknown wave speed, which gives the possibility of more accurate pile length calculations. The method was evaluated successfully during a measurement campaign of a slab foundation with subjacent piles. In 20 of 28 cases the pile length could be detected accurately.
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.
Foundations
(2017)
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.
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.
Zusammenfassung Im Rahmen eines Forschungsvorhabens an der RWTH Aachen wurden mehrere Spannbetondurchlaufträger bis zum Versagen belastetet. Neben umfangreicher konventioneller Messtechnik wurden zusätzlich innovative Messmethoden durch die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM) getestet. Darunter waren eingebettete Ultraschall-Transducer, deren Daten mit einer neuartigen Methode, der Codawelleninterferometrie (CWI), ausgewertet wurden. Dieses Verfahren detektiert auch kleinste Änderungen im Signal und in der Wellengeschwindigkeit gegenüber einer Referenzmessung. Hiermit können Belastungs- und Strukturänderungen sowie Schäden sehr viel sensibler angezeigt werden als bei konventionellen Ultraschallmessungen. Durch eine Modifikation des Verfahrens mit gleitender Referenz können aber auch starke Veränderungen im Material, wie sie bei Bruchversuchen auftreten, erfasst werden. In den Versuchen gelang es mit Netzwerken aus bis zu 20 Ultraschall-Transducern, Spannungskonzentrationen und Rissbildungen qualitativ zu detektieren und zu verfolgen, ohne dass die Sensoren direkt am Ort der Änderung angebracht sein müssen.
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.
Ein Ultraschallsystem mit großer Apertur, genannt LAUS – Large Aperture UltraSound, wird vorgestellt und die technischen Eigenschaften erläutert. Es besteht aus zwölf Prüfköpfen, die beliebig auf Betonoberflächen mit Unterdruck befestigt und jeweils als Sender oder Empfänger genutzt werden. Alle möglichen Kombinationen ergeben 132 Einzelmessungen, die zur Rekonstruktion des durchschallten Volumens genutzt werden. Das System wurde an zwei Bauwerken erfolgreich erprobt. Die Dicke einer sehr stark bewehrten Fundamentplatte eines Fallturms wurde bestimmt. Die Messungen erfolgten in einem Raster auf einer Fläche von 2,0 × 1,8 m2 und die Rückseite konnte eindeutig abgebildet werden. Weitere Anzeigen aus dem Inneren der Platte zeigen das Potenzial des Systems. An einem Brückenbauwerk wurden indirekt Verdichtungsmängel lokalisiert. Dazu wurden mit dem LAUS-System die im Brückenträger verlaufenden Spannkanäle durch fast 2 m Beton abgebildet.
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.
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.
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.
This paper presents a novel non-destructive testing and health monitoring system using a network of tactile transducers and accelerometers for the condition assessment and damage classification of foundation piles and utility poles. While in traditional pile integrity testing an impact hammer with broadband frequency excitation is typically used, the proposed testing system utilizes an innovative excitation system based on a network of tactile transducers to induce controlled narrow-band frequency stress waves. Thereby, the simultaneous excitation of multiple stress wave types and modes is avoided (or at least reduced), and targeted wave forms can be generated. The new testing system enables the testing and monitoring of foundation piles and utility poles where the top is inaccessible, making the new testing system suitable, for example, for the condition assessment of pile structures with obstructed heads and of poles with live wires. For system validation, the new system was experimentally tested on nine timber and concrete poles that were inflicted with several types of damage. The tactile transducers were excited with continuous sine wave signals of 1 kHz frequency. Support vector machines were employed together with advanced signal processing algorithms to distinguish recorded stress wave signals from pole structures with different types of damage. The results show that using fast Fourier transform signals, combined with principal component analysis as the input feature vector for support vector machine (SVM) classifiers with different kernel functions, can achieve damage classification with accuracies of 92.5% ± 7.5%.
Vor einer geplanten Weiter- oder Wiedernutzung von Bestandsgründungen stellt sich die Frage nach deren Lage, Geometrie und Zustand im Untergrund. Hierfür gibt es verschiedene Prüfverfahren. Die Abläufe bei Planung und Prüfung sind jedoch bisher nicht standardisiert und die Möglichkeiten bzw. Grenzen der Prüfverfahren den Planern wenig bekannt. Im Forschungsprojekt REFUND (2014–2016) wurden unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Normen und des Stands der Technik Ablaufdiagramme für die Planung der Wiedernutzung sowie die Untersuchung des Bestands 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 zusammengefasst. Es soll Planer und andere Verantwortliche bei der wirtschaftlich und technisch optimierten Durchführung von Wiedernutzungsprojekten unterstützen.
Der Blick in die Brücke
(2018)
This paper reviews state-of-the-art in nondestructive testing (NDT) and semidestructive testing (SDT) methods applicable for imaging the condition of structural timber. Both NDT and SDT imaging reveal defects, damages, and decay, while the extent of wood decay can also be quantified. Combined with an appropriate data interpretation concerning the internal defects, the mechanical properties of the material can also be assessed. The possibilities and limitations of the most relevant individual NDT and SDT methods, also in combination with each other, are outlined and compared. To facilitate comparison, many observations are reported based on the same test specimen.
Processing ultrasonic data by coda wave interferometry to monitor load tests of concrete beams
(2018)
Ultrasonic transmission measurements have been used for decades to monitor concrete elements, mostly on a laboratory scale. Recently, coda wave interferometry (CWI), a technique adapted from seismology, was introduced to civil engineering experiments. It can be used to reveal subtle changes in concrete laboratory samples and even large structural elements without having a transducer directly at the place where the change is taking place. Here, several load tests until failure on large posttensioned concrete beams have been monitored using networks of embedded transducers. To detect subtle effects at the beginning of the experiments and cope with severe changes due to cracking close to failure, the coda wave interferometry procedures had to be modified to an adapted step-wise approach. Using this methodology, we were able to monitor stress distribution and localize large cracks by a relatively simple technique. Implementation of this approach on selected real structures might help to make decisions in infrastructure asset management.
"INFRASTAR aims to develop knowledge, expertise and skills for optimal and reliable management of structures. The generic methodology is applied to bridges and wind turbines in relation to fatigue offering the opportunity to deal with complementary notions (such as old and new asset management, unique and similar structures, wind and traffic actions) while addressing 3 major challenges: 1/ advanced modelling of concrete fatigue behaviour, 2/new non destructive testing methods for early aged damage detection and 3/probabilistic approach of structure reliability under fatigue. Benefit of cross-experience and inter-disciplinary synergies creates new knowledge. INFRASTAR proposes innovative solutions for civil infrastructure asset management so that young scientists acquire a high employment profile in close dialogue between industry and academic partners. Modern engineering methods, including probabilistic approaches, risk and reliability assessment tools, will take into account the effective structural behaviour of existing bridges and wind turbines by exploiting monitored data. Existing methods and current state-of -the art is based on excessive conservatism which produces high costs and hinders sustainability. INFRASTAR improves knowledge for optimising the design of new structures, for more realistic verification of structural safety and more accurate prediction of future lifetime of the existing structures. That is a challenge for a sustainable development because it reduces building material and energy consumption as well as CO2 production. Within the global framework of optimal infrastructure asset management, INFRASTAR will result in a multi-disciplinary body of knowledge covering generic problems from the design stage process of the new civil infrastructures up to recycling after dismantlement. This approach and the proposed methods and tools are new and allow a step forward for innovative and effective process."
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.
Advanced ultrasonic imaging for concrete: Alternative imaging conditions for reverse time migration
(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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Air‑coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers for nondestructive testing of wood‑based materials
(2018)
Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used in through transmission to detect delamination, rot, and cracks in wood without altering the structure permanently. Novel ferroelectret transducers with a high signal-to-noise ratio enable high-precision structure recognition. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene are quite suitable for ACU testing due to their extremely low Young’s modulus and low density resulting in a favorable acoustic impedance for the transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air. Thus, structures with great dimensions, with a thickness of up to 300 mm and material densities below 500 kg/m3, can be inspected. Promising results were obtained under laboratory conditions with frequencies ranging from 90 to 200 kHz. The advantage of ACU transducers is that they do not equire contact to the sample; they are accurate and cost-effective. Ultrasonic quality assurance for wood is an important avenue to increase the acceptance of wooden structures and toward sustainability in civil engineering in general.
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.
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.
Foundations
(2018)
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.
In this study, an Impulse Response Function analysis of pile response to sine-sweep excitation by a low cost, portable Shaker was used to identify defects in piles. In straightforward impact-echo methods, echoes from the pile toe and defects are visible in the time domain measurements. However, these echoes are not present in the time domain records of piles subjected to sine-sweep excitations, due to interactions between the input and output signals. For this reason, the impulse response function in the time domain has been calculated and is able to identify the echoes from pile impedance changes. The proposed methodology has been evaluated both numerically and experimentally. A one-dimensional pile-soil interaction system was developed, and a finite difference method used to calculate the pile response to sine-sweep excitation. The numerical simulations indicate that impulse response measurements with a synthesized logarithmic, sine-sweep excitation could be an effective tool for detecting defects in piles. The methodology was further tested with field trials on 6 cast in situ concrete test piles including 1 intact pile and 5 defective piles subjected to sine-sweep excitations by a shaker. In 5 of the 6 cases the echoes from the pile toe could be identified in the deconvoluted waveforms—the impulse Response functions. Damage detection is more difficult and dependent on the selection of the optimal regularization parameter. Further research and optimization of the deconvolution process is needed to evaluate the effectiveness compared to standard pile integrity testing methods.
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.
The assessment of Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI) and Distributed Fiber Optics Sensing (DFOS) techniques for the detection of damages in a laboratory size reinforced concrete beam is presented in this paper. The sensitivity of these two novel techniques to micro cracks is discussed and compared to standard traditional sensors. Moreover, the capacity of a DFOS technique to localize cracks and quantify crack openings is also assessed. The results show that the implementation of CWI and DFOS techniques allow the detection of early subtle changes in reinforced concrete structures until crack formation. With their ability to quantify the crack opening, following early detection and localization, DFOS techniques can achieve more effective monitoring of reinforced concrete structures. Contrary to discrete sensors, CWI and DFOS techniques cover larger areas and thus provide more efficient infrastructures asset management and maintenance operations throughout the lifetime of the structure.
The LAUS: First Applications of a New System for Ultrasonic Imaging of Very Concrete Structures
(2019)
The LAUS (Large Aperture Ultrasonic System) has been developed to image very thick concrete structures, which are not accessible for commercial systems. The device and the corresponding software is the result of joint Research of BAM, an ultrasonic instrument manufacturer and University of Kassel, Germany. It consists of 12 separate Arrays of 32 point-contact shear wave transducers each, which can be deployed in flexible configurations. Each array is combined with battery and transmitter, receiver and wireless communication electronics.
Three case histories are presented. First the system was deployed on a 5-m thick heavily reinforced foundation slab.
The reflection of the slab’s bottom was imaged clearly. In addition, a multiple reflection was registered, thus giving hope that even thicker elements might be imaged by the instrument. Second, the LAUS was used to investigate a massive bridge girder where a heavy rainstorm during concreting had led to imperfections that were visible after removing the formwork was removed. The LAUS could image tendon ducts in 1.8m depth and the backwall closely behind them. Some limited areas showed blurred reflections and were checked by drill holes; these areas were affected by diffuse damage which could be repaired by injections. Third, a large retaining wall was checked for thickness.
Meanwhile, the LAUS has been used in underground waste deposits (nuclear and other) for quality assurance of sealing plugs. A confirmed penetration depth of about 7 m has been reached.
Dieses erste Memorandum zur Lehre und Forschung an deutschsprachigen Hochschulen auf dem Gebiet der zerstörungsfreien Prüfung im Bauwesen gibt einen Überblick hinsichtlich der akademischen Ausbildung und zeigt mögliche Schwerpunkte vor allem in der Lehre auf. Diese Schwerpunkte berücksichtigen auch aktuelle Entwicklungen und Themen auf dem Gebiet der Forschung. Es werden Anregungen zur Entwicklung bzw. Weiterentwicklung der Lehr-Curricula im Hinblick auf eine umfassende und solide fachliche Ausbildung der Studierenden des Bauwesens und angrenzender Fachrichtungen gegeben. Inhaltlich und formal lehnt sich der Beitrag an dem Memorandum der Hochschullehrer im Fachgebiet „Werkstoffe im Bauwesen“ (Breit et al., 2012) an und beruht auf einer Initiative des Unterausschusses Ausbildung – Arbeitsgruppe Ausbildung in der Hochschule – des Fachausschusses ZfP im Bauwesen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für zerstörungsfreie Prüfung (DGZfP). Die Hauptredaktion wurde übernommen von Prof. Christian U. Grosse (TU München) und Prof. Ralf W. Arndt (FH Erfurt).
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.
The necessity and demand for nondestructive testing of wood-based materials which can automatically scan huge areas of wood is increasing. Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect defects and damage without altering the structure permanently. Using through transmission it is possible to detect even small holes and missing adhesive. If only one side of an object is accessible the reflection mode is preferred at the expense of a reduced resolution and penetration depth. Novel ferroelectret transducers with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enable a high-precision structure recognition. The transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) are quite suitable for ACU testing due to their extremely low Young’s modulus and low density which result in a favorable acoustic impedance for the transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air. Thus, defects such as delamination, rot, and cracks can be detected. Promising results were obtained under laboratory conditions with frequencies from 90 kHz to 200 kHz. The advantage of these ACU transducers is that they do not require contact to the sample, are accurate, and cost effective. Ultrasonic quality assurance for Wood is an important attempt to increase the acceptance of wooden structures and towards sustainability in civil engineering in general.
The process of ensuring reliability of NDT applications contains various aspects, such as determining the performance and probability of success, the uncertainty in measurement, the provision of clear and functional procedures and ensuring the correct application accordingly. Test specimens have become powerful elements in supporting many of these aspects. Within the committee for NDT in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE) of the German Society for Nondestructive Testing (DGZfP), the subcommittee on Quality Assurance (UA-QS) therefore addresses the design and the integration of test specimens in the quality assurance process. Depending on the specific purpose, the requirements on test specimens can vary significantly based on the defined simulated scenario. The most prominent purposes of test specimens might be seen in providing references for inspection systems in regard to function control, calibration and validation. Further aspects can be parametric studies, basic investigation of physical principles related to NDT or a simplified and therefore comprehensive demonstration of inspection concepts (e.g. for teaching purposes). The specific purpose of a test specimen dictates the requirements regarding its conception, including the exact design, the material or the fabrication accuracy and the conditioning. In the development of a general guideline by the UA-QS for application-specific procedures and their validation, the use of test specimens is addressed and specific concepts for the design of test specimens are made. This includes the analysis of the measurement process regarding any given application, deriving an adequate calibration approach for it and designing test specimens (calibration specimens) accordingly. Furthermore, it includes the validation of the procedure taking into account all conditions related to the specific application in the field. The validation requires a statistically sufficient number of trials. Thorough evaluation of each trial can only be established if the ground-truth is known. Therefore, test specimens providing a realistic but controlled simulation of the inspection problem are valuable and indispensable elements in the validation process. The requirement of being fully realistic will often not be possible to fulfill due to practical restrictions. Any aspect that cannot be included in the simulation realistically needs to be simulated conservatively. This again, requires a sufficient understanding of the inspection principle and technique to ensure conservativeness. Among other quality-assurance-related aspects, the UA-QS establishes concepts and guidelines regarding sound and efficient approaches for the specific purposes of test specimens. This subcommittee brings together representatives of different Groups along the entire value chain of NDT-CE, including researchers, practitioners, manufacturers and clients. They all work together in establishing a common understanding and level of quality assurance in the industry.
The field of non-destructive testing of civil structures (NDT-CE) has been continuously growing. Due to the complexity and diversity of civil constructions as well as the heterogeneity of concrete, specific standards or guidelines for the application of modern NDT-CE are still missing. The development of individual solutions is the current approach, which is just as challenging as it is common for NDT-CE.
With the increasing development and commercialization of NDT-CE technology, the group of practitioners is growing. To ensure a good level of quality in the industry, it appears necessary to establish adequate means.
Naturally, the performance of NDT-CE methods regarding a specific application is strongly dependent on choosing the most suitable inspection technique and applying it correctly, generally referred to as the inspection procedure in the field of NDT. There are well-defined guidelines regarding procedure documentation and handling in many fields of NDT (e.g. nuclear, aerospace or automotive) according to the high importance of procedures in assuring a successful and reliable application. For a long time, this has not always been the case with NDT-CE, which is still considered a unique discipline of NDT. Part of the reason for that might be the young development state of NDTCE, the heterogeneity of building materials like concrete, timber or masonry as a material and the diversity of civil structures. In consequence, NDT-CE procedure development is considered challenging.
Among other aspects, addressed in the subcommittee on Quality Assurance (UA-QS) within the committee for NDT-CE of the German Society for Nondestructive Testing (DGZfP), part of its work aims at establishing an adequate basis for NDT-CE procedure development. While some of the highly developed approaches from other industries are taken into consideration, they need to be analyzed regarding their suitability for NDT-CE and adapted accordingly. For a procedure to be as defined as possible, it needs to contain sufficient information, such as the scope and limitations regarding material, geometry and condition of the test object, inspection parameters, calibration, data acquisition, analysis criteria as well as requirements regarding the inspection personnel.
For a successful implementation in the field, it is important to define the specific procedure as precisely as possible. Despite the necessity of a great amount of information to be included, the procedure needs to be suitable for efficient field application.
The UA-QS is developing a guideline for NDT-CE procedures suitable for application in this field of NDT to ensure correct and reproducible application. To demonstrate and evaluate this concept, specific examples of procedures are also produced. In particular, the UA-QS has developed a procedure for the detection and positioning of tendon ducts using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This procedure is tested regarding the practical applicability in a roundrobin on a defined type of reference test block.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 fatigue phenomena that could lead to premature failure of certain structural elements. To date, fatigue of reinforced concrete has been given little focus. Knowledge 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 time-variant loading on concrete structures plays an increasing role, e.g. in bridges with increasing traffic and heavier trucks, and for wind turbines for renewable energy production, e.g. for 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 concrete 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.
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.
Imaging wood defects using air coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers in reflection mode
(2020)
Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect defects in wood panels without physically contacting the sample and with a quick scanning rate. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) with a high signal-to-noise ratio are quite suitable for ACU testing of wood. The extremely low modulus of elasticity and low density of PP transducers results in a small difference in acoustic impedance for the Transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air, allowing new areas of application to become possible.
To demonstrate the suitability of the reflection technique, measurements are shown on the three samples Multiplex, LVL, and MDF and compared with transmission measurements. Due to this acoustic barrier and the use of cellular PP transducers, an exact detection of delamination and cavities is possible in wood panels up to 40 mm thick. If only one side of an object is accessible and the depth of the defect is of interest, the reflection technique is preferred at the expense of a reduced measuring accuracy and Penetration depth.
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.
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.
NDE 4.0 in Civil Engineering
(2021)
Civil engineering industry is one of the most important industry sectors in the worldwide 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, and 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 designing, building, and operating 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 industry 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 or the mandatory introduction of “Building Information Modeling” (BIM) in public procurement as well as the upcoming use of digital twins. NDE plays an increasing role in quality assurance, condition assessment, and monitoring of structures. However, with very few exceptions, applications are mostly nonstandardized 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.
Muon Tomography of the Interior of a Reinforced Concrete Block: First Experimental Proof of Concept
(2021)
Quality assurance and condition assessment of concrete structures is an important topic world-wide due to the aging infrastructure and increasing traffic demands. Common topics include, but are not limited to, localisation of rebar or tendon ducts, geometrical irregularities, cracks, voids, honeycombing or other flaws. Non-destructive techniques such as ultrasound or radar have found regular, successful practical application but sometimes suffer from limited resolution and accuracy, imaging artefacts or restrictions in detecting certain features. Until the 1980s X-ray transmission was used in case of special demands and showed a much better resolution than other NDT techniques. However, due to safety concerns and cost issues, this method is almost never used anymore. Muon tomography has received much attention recently. Novel detectors for cosmic muons and tomographic imaging algorithms have opened up new fields of application, such as the investigation of freight containers. Muon imaging also has the potential to fill some of the gaps currently existing in concrete NDT. As a first step towards practical use and as a proof of concept we used an existing system to image the interior of a reference reinforced 600 kg concrete block. Even with a yet not optimized setup for this kind of investigation, the muon imaging results are at least of similar quality compared to ultrasonic and radar imaging, potentially even better. The data acquisition takes more time and signals contain more noise, but the images allowed to detect the same important features that are visible in conventional high energy X-ray tomography. In our experiment, we have shown that muon imaging has potential for concrete inspection. The next steps include the development of mobile detectors and optimising acquisition and imaging parameters.
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.
Reinforced concrete bridges are iconic parts of modern infrastructure. They are designed for a minimum service life of 100 years. However, environmental factors and/or inappropriate use might cause overload and accelerate the deterioration of bridges. In extreme cases, bridges could collapse when necessary maintenance lacks. Thus, the permanent monitoring for structure health assessment has been proposed, which is the aim of structural health monitoring (SHM). Studies in laboratories have shown that ultrasonic (US) coda wave interferometry (CWI) using diffuse waves has high sensitivity and reliability to detect subtle changes in concrete structures. The creation of micro-cracks might be recognized at an early stage. Moreover, large-volume structures can be monitored with a relatively small number of US transducers. However, it is still a challenge to implement the CWI method in real SHM practical applications in an outdoor environment because of the complex external factors, such as various noise sources that interfere with the recorded signals. In this paper, monitoring data from a 36-m long bridge girder in Gliwice, Poland, instrumented with embedded US transducers, thermistors, and vibrating wire strain gauges, is presented. Noise estimation and reductionmethods are discussed, and the influence of traffic, as well as temperature variation, are studied. As a result, the relative velocity variation of US waves following the temperature change with a very high precision of 10−4% is shown, and a good bridge health condition is inferred. The influence of lightweight real traffic is negligible. The study verified the feasibility of the implementation of the CWI method on real bridge structures.
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.
With a goal to improve our understanding of the relationships between microstructural features and ultrasonic signal behavior, concrete specimens of varying water-to-cement ratio were imaged using X-ray computed tomography (CT), and subsequently subjected to ultrasonic testing. From the CT scans, measurements were made of cement paste density and number of interfaces. Ultrasonic signals produced using a through-transmission configuration were analyzed and fit to a diffusion model to separate absorption from scattering attenuation. The results showed that at the frequencies tested, ultrasonic dissipation rate correlated weakly with paste density, while diffusivity correlated well with number of interfaces, but only if entrained air is considered separately. Cement paste density was found to be very well predicted by diffusivity, leading to a clear power-law relationship between diffusivity and compressive strength.
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.
This paper describes a new ultrasonic measuring device called “W-Box”. It was developed based on the requirements of the DFG Forschergruppe (research unit) CoDA for a portable device for monitoring of concrete specimens, models and actual structures using embedded ultrasonic transducers as well as temperature and humidity sensors. The W-Box can send ultrasonic pulses with a variable frequency of 50–100 kHz to one selectable transducer and records signals from up to 75 multiplexed channels with a sample rate of 1 MHz and a resolution of 14 bits. In addition, it measures temperature and humidity with high accuracy, adjustable amplification, restarts automatically after a power failure and can be fully controlled remotely. The measured data are automatically stored locally on-site data quality checks and transferred to remote servers. The comparison of the W-Box with a laboratory setup using commercial devices proves that it is equally reliable and precise, at much lower cost. The W-Box also shows that their measurement capacities, with the used embedded ultrasonic transducers, can reach above 6 m in concrete.
In the framework of non-destructive-testing advanced seismic imaging techniques have been applied to ultrasonic echo data in order to examine the integrity of an engineered test-barrier designed to be used for sealing an underground nuclear waste disposal site. Synthetic data as well as real multi-receiver ultrasonic data acquired at the test site were processed and imaged using Kirchhoff prestack depth migration reverse time migration (RTM). In general, both methods provide a good Image quality as demonstrated by various case studies, however deeper parts within the test barrier containing inclined reflectors were reconstructed more accurately by RTM. In particular, the image quality of a specific target reflector at a depth of 8 m in the test-barrier has been significantly improved compared to previous investigations using synthetic aperture Focusing technique, which justifies the considerable computing time of this method.
The duraBASt area at the highway intersection “Köln-Ost” is a large test field for road testing.
It includes the duraBASt test bridge which is approximately 66 m long and 14.25 m broad. This bridge is part of the “road in the 21st Century” project and is equipped with several sensors for structural health monitoring. This feasibility study is carried out to investigate the prerequisites necessary for the constraction of intelligent bridges in the foture. Embedded sensors are able to measure quantities such as temperature, strain, moisture, corrosion, etc. In the presented work, the focus is set on passive RFID-based sensors. The communication and energy supply are realised by a mobile transmitter through the concrete cover. Hence, no cables or batteries are required. The sensors are designed to withstand the alkaline environment in concrete. Thus, moisture and corrosion values are measurable for several decades.
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
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.
Attenuation of ultrasonic signals in concrete has the potential to carry much information about the microstructure of the material. In this work a series of concrete specimens of varying porosities and pore size distributions were internally imaged with x-ray computed tomography (CT), and then subsequently examined with throughtransmission ultrasound. The CT images were used to quantify both capillary porosity of cement paste as well as internal interfaces that are likely to produce elastic wave scattering. Ultrasound signals were represented as a diffusion process such that absorption and scattering attenuation could be isolated. As implemented, the diffusion model was a poor predictor of capillary porosity, while diffusivity was a reasonable predictor of scattering interfaces. Diffusivity was found to scale extremely well with small scale porosity, which made it a good predictor of compressive strength.