Experimental Study of Nondestructive Geophysical Methods for Evaluating the Condition of Concrete Structures

Abstract

It is often necessary to evaluate the integrity and reliability of concrete structures that are exposed to extreme environmental conditions over a long period of time. This paper presents a range of nondestructive geophysical methods, including Ultraseismic, Parallel Seismic, and Impulse Response techniques that use elastic-wave properties to inspect concrete-foundation structures. These approaches depend on basic waveform properties such as wave speed, amplitude, and frequency. The goal of this research is to obtain an appropriate test procedure and identify parameters for i) verifying the wave reflected from internal concrete defects, and ii) identifying the effective depth of a pre-built test foundation. To do so, we have established an experimental laboratory to calibrate and check the reliability of the measured data and understand the wave properties for different concrete conditions (i.e., fractures). It is often necessary to evaluate the integrity and reliability of concrete structures that are exposed to extreme environmental conditions over a long period of time. This paper presents a range of nondestructive geophysical methods, including Ultraseismic, Parallel Seismic, and Impulse Response techniques that use elastic-wave properties to inspect concrete-foundation structures. These approaches depend on basic waveform properties such as wave speed, amplitude, and frequency. The goal of this research is to obtain an appropriate test procedure and identify parameters for i) verifying the wave reflected from internal concrete defects, and ii) identifying the effective depth of a pre-built test foundation. To do so, we have established an experimental laboratory to calibrate and check the reliability of the measured data and understand the wave properties for different concrete conditions (i.e., fractures). We concluded that the aforementioned geophysical approaches could provide vital information for quality control and rehabilitation purposes.