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It is known that the spalling risk of dense, high-strength concretes (HSC) can be reduced by the addition of polypropylene (PP) fibres and, in particular, PP-fibres that have been pre-treated using electron irradiation. It is presumed that the enhanced reduction in spalling resulting from electron irradiation pre-treatment of the fibres can be attributed to enhanced penetration of the molten fibre material into the micro-cracks around the fibres, due to their significantly decreased viscosity. So far there has been no experimental evidence for this. Against this background, this paper gives a com-parative analysis of the mode of action of PP-fibres with and without pre-treatment using multi-scale test methodology.
Initially, fire tests on small-scale building components with accompanying damage monitoring veri-fied that the amount of PP-fibres can be halved by using pre-treated PP-fibres without reducing the fire performance of HSC. Detailed investigations of PP-fibres carried out in a completed research project funded by DFG (the German Research Foundation) using digital scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry measurements (DSC/TG) as well as viscometer measurements showed that the pre-treatment has no significant influence on the melting temperature of the PP-fibres. However, a drastic reduction of the melt viscosity due to the electron irradiation was detectable. Additional dila-tation tests showed that the expansion behaviour of both fibre types and their melts do not differ significantly [1]. Rather, both fibre types generate high pressures when their thermal expansion is hindered. Further detailed investigations by means of continuous heating tests with a low heating rate were carried out on separately produced concrete cylinders. These tests showed that the pre-treatment of the PP-fibres causes earlier dehydration in conjunction with stagnation of thermal expansion of the concrete cylinders (temperature reduction from 180 °C to 170 °C). This is accompanied by in-creased acoustic emission activity during the thermal expansion tests. This leads to the assumption that the pre-treatment of PP-fibres results in earlier micro-crack development. However, it was not possible to confirm this assumption by microscopic examination of drilling cores with a diameter of 30 mm exposed to defined temperatures in the range between 150°C and 300°C. Microscopic obser-vations and additional X-ray 3D computed tomography (3D-CT) scans on miniaturised drilling cores exposed to temperature cycles showed a similar networking of fibre beds by means of micro-cracks in HSC for both fibre types. However, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and wavelength disper-sive X-ray spectroscopy revealed fundamental differences in the penetration capacity of the fibre melts of the two fibre types. The increased penetration of the pre-treated PP-fibre melt revealed in these tests, confirms the initial working hypothesis.
Unilateral thermal exposure of concrete building components induces moisture transport processes that have a significant influence on the spalling behaviour of dense high-strength concrete (HSC). These transport processes are based on evaporation and condensation mechanisms of liquid and gaseous water in the pores as well as the chemically bound water within the concrete. The low permeability of HSC and the formation of a saturated zone within building components (also known as a moisture clog) leads to high water-vapour pressures, which contributes to explosive spalling. The formation of these pressures has already been verified by means of pore-pressure measurement techniques. In addition, the redistribution of the moisture within concrete specimens subject to unilateral thermal exposure has been demonstrated on fractured surfaces. Investigations by means of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry technique and neutron radiography have shown one-dimensional changes in moisture distribution during thermal exposure.
However, none of these methods has been able to depict the moisture distribution in three dimensions (3D), so the link between pore size, concrete micro-structure and moisture content is missing. The research project presented in this paper aims to fill this gap by developing a new multi-level test methodology to characterise non-destructively the temporal course of spatial moisture distribution during unilateral thermal exposure. The procedure used during this programme included the collection of X-ray 3D-computed tomography (CT) measurements using a miniaturised specimen subjected to in-situ thermal exposure and the comparison of those CT results with the results of one-dimensional NMR-relaxometry before and after the heating process.
In the first step, a mobile heating device was developed, built and tested. To simulate a unilaterally-heated construction component, a cylindrical specimen made of HSC (Ø = 40 mm, L = 100 mm) was cast into an impermeable glass ceramic shell. The ceramic shell ensured a one-dimensional moisture flux and limited the thermal expansion of the concrete. An additional high-temperature wool (HTW) insulating shell ensured a one-dimensional heat flux. The heating device, which operated using infrared radiation (IR), allowed the unilateral heating of the specimens up to 300 °C using variable heating regimes.
In the second step, the mobile heating device was integrated into the CT-scanner, which enabled the collection of measurements before, during and after heating. By subtraction of successive 3D-CT images, X-ray attenuation differences could be resolved three-dimensionally in the specimen and interpreted as changes in the moisture content.
Initial results show that this test methodology can monitor the 3D changes of moisture content inside the specimen during thermal exposure. It enables the researcher to visualise areas with moisture accumulation as well as dehydrated areas inside the specimen. Comparative one-dimensional NMR-relaxometry measurements confirm the results of the CT image analysis.
It is known that the spalling risk of dense, high-strength concretes (HSC) can be reduced by the addition of polypropylene (PP) fibres and, in particular, PP-fibres that have been pre-treated using electron irradiation. It is presumed that the enhanced reduction in spalling resulting from electron irradiation pre-treatment of the fibres can be attributed to enhanced penetration of the molten fibre material into the micro-cracks around the fibres, due to their significantly decreased viscosity. So far there has been no experimental evidence for this. Against this background, this paper gives a com-parative analysis of the mode of action of PP-fibres with and without pre-treatment using multi-scale test methodology.
Initially, fire tests on small-scale building components with accompanying damage monitoring veri-fied that the amount of PP-fibres can be halved by using pre-treated PP-fibres without reducing the fire performance of HSC. Detailed investigations of PP-fibres carried out in a completed research project funded by DFG (the German Research Foundation) using digital scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry measurements (DSC/TG) as well as viscometer measurements showed that the pre-treatment has no significant influence on the melting temperature of the PP-fibres. However, a drastic reduction of the melt viscosity due to the electron irradiation was detectable. Additional dila-tation tests showed that the expansion behaviour of both fibre types and their melts do not differ significantly [1]. Rather, both fibre types generate high pressures when their thermal expansion is hindered. Further detailed investigations by means of continuous heating tests with a low heating rate were carried out on separately produced concrete cylinders. These tests showed that the pre-treatment of the PP-fibres causes earlier dehydration in conjunction with stagnation of thermal expansion of the concrete cylinders (temperature reduction from 180 °C to 170 °C). This is accompanied by in-creased acoustic emission activity during the thermal expansion tests. This leads to the assumption that the pre-treatment of PP-fibres results in earlier micro-crack development. However, it was not possible to confirm this assumption by microscopic examination of drilling cores with a diameter of 30 mm exposed to defined temperatures in the range between 150°C and 300°C. Microscopic obser-vations and additional X-ray 3D computed tomography (3D-CT) scans on miniaturised drilling cores exposed to temperature cycles showed a similar networking of fibre beds by means of micro-cracks in HSC for both fibre types. However, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and wavelength disper-sive X-ray spectroscopy revealed fundamental differences in the penetration capacity of the fibre melts of the two fibre types. The increased penetration of the pre-treated PP-fibre melt revealed in these tests, confirms the initial working hypothesis.
Unilateral thermal exposure of concrete building components induces moisture transport processes that have a significant influence on the spalling behaviour of dense high-strength concrete (HSC). These transport processes are based on evaporation and condensation mechanisms of liquid and gaseous water in the pores as well as the chemically bound water within the concrete. The low permeability of HSC and the formation of a saturated zone within building components (also known as a moisture clog) leads to high water-vapour pressures, which contributes to explosive spalling. The formation of these pressures has already been verified by means of pore-pressure measurement techniques. In addition, the redistribution of the moisture within concrete specimens subject to unilateral thermal exposure has been demonstrated on fractured surfaces. Investigations by means of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry technique and neutron radiography have shown one-dimensional changes in moisture distribution during thermal exposure.
However, none of these methods has been able to depict the moisture distribution in three dimensions (3D), so the link between pore size, concrete micro-structure and moisture content is missing. The research project presented in this paper aims to fill this gap by developing a new multi-level test methodology to characterise non-destructively the temporal course of spatial moisture distribution during unilateral thermal exposure. The procedure used during this programme included the collection of X-ray 3D-computed tomography (CT) measurements using a miniaturised specimen subjected to in-situ thermal exposure and the comparison of those CT results with the results of one-dimensional NMR-relaxometry before and after the heating process.
In the first step, a mobile heating device was developed, built and tested. To simulate a unilaterally-heated construction component, a cylindrical specimen made of HSC (Ø = 40 mm, L = 100 mm) was cast into an impermeable glass ceramic shell. The ceramic shell ensured a one-dimensional moisture flux and limited the thermal expansion of the concrete. An additional high-temperature wool (HTW) insulating shell ensured a one-dimensional heat flux. The heating device, which operated using infrared radiation (IR), allowed the unilateral heating of the specimens up to 300 °C using variable heating regimes.
In the second step, the mobile heating device was integrated into the CT-scanner, which enabled the collection of measurements before, during and after heating. By subtraction of successive 3D-CT images, X-ray attenuation differences could be resolved three-dimensionally in the specimen and interpreted as changes in the moisture content.
Initial results show that this test methodology can monitor the 3D changes of moisture content inside the specimen during thermal exposure. It enables the researcher to visualise areas with moisture accumulation as well as dehydrated areas inside the specimen. Comparative one-dimensional NMR-relaxometry measurements confirm the results of the CT image analysis.
Today, it is an established fact that the capability of the non-destructive testing (NDT) to find flaws can be properly addressed only in terms of probability of detection (POD). The probabilistic, signal-response model, introduced in 1980s, was developed with experimental observation of eddy-current inspections of flat plate samples, containing surface breaking cracks. A linearity between the peak voltage measured by the testing system, and the crack depth was observed. The influence of the crack depth was therefore seen as the major influencing factor for the POD, whereas other factors merely caused the variability in the measurement. This model has proven itself valid for those inspection cases where there is only one main influencing factor on the POD (usually the flaw size) and other factors have a lesser influence. But with increasing requirements to quantify the capability of NDT systems in complex inspection situations, where several factors have a major influence on the POD, it has become clear that the applicability of this simple model has reached its limits. In disregard to its limitations, this model is regularly applied to those situations in which its fundamental assumptions are invalid, forcing evaluators and NDT researchers into attempts to fit the data to an unsuitable model, instead of fitting an appropriate model to the data.
The multiparameter POD model, developed in the early 2010s, enables more factors that influence detection to be simultaneously analysed, making the POD a function of multiple factors. The model is based on the inspection’s physical model, to describe the influence of different factors on the response signal. Measurement variability is obtained from the experiment. Using this model assisted determination of the POD, the necessary number of flaws for evaluation is reduced and a more comprehensive understanding of the inspection is obtained. Several examples of the successful application of the multi-parameter POD model in different fields will be presented.