Evaluation of the resistance of steel–concrete adhesive connection in reinforced concrete beams using guided wave propagation

The following paper presents the results of the theoretical and experimental analysis of the influence of debonding size on guided wave propagation in reinforced concrete beams. The main aim of the paper is a development of a novel, baseline-free method for determining the total area of debonding between steel rebar embedded in a concrete cover on the basis of the average wave velocity or the time of flight. The correctness of the developed relationships was verified during the experimental tests, which included propagation of guided waves in concrete beams with the varying debonding size, shape and location. The analysis of the collected results proved that guided waves can be efficiently used not only in the debonding detection, but also in an exact determining of its total area, which is extremely important in the context of the nondestructive assessment of the load capacity of the reinforced concrete structures. The undeniable advantage of the proposed method is that there are no requirements for any baseline signals collected for an undamaged structure. The paper comprises of the detailed step by step algorithm description and a discussion of both the advantages and disadvantages.

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Guided Wave Inspection of Bars in Reinforced-Concrete Beams Using Surface-Mounted Vibration Sensors

Vibration ◽

10.3390/vibration3040023 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 343-356

Author(s):

Evelyne El Masri ◽

Timothy Waters ◽

Neil Ferguson

Keyword(s):

Finite Element ◽

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Reflection Coefficient ◽

Guided Waves ◽

Transfer Functions ◽

Concrete Beams ◽

Guided Wave ◽

Reinforced Concrete Beams ◽

Invasive Technique ◽

Reflection Coefficients

Steel reinforcement bars (rebars) in concrete structures are inaccessible and not conducive to many inspection methods. This paper proposes a non-invasive technique based on guided waves for detecting localised abnormalities in rebars embedded in concrete beams. The technique is predicated on previously published observations that guided waves are strongly reflected by discontinuities at the frequency at which they begin to propagate, i.e., at cut-on. The reflection coefficient at cut-on is estimated using a simple wave decomposition in which a near-zero wavenumber value is assumed. A simulated study is first carried out to evaluate the technique on a concrete beam featuring four rebars. The wave finite element approach is adopted to model two uniform beams which are coupled via a short, damaged section modelled in conventional finite element analysis. Estimated reflection coefficients arising from the discontinuity are close to the true values at cut-on and independent of frequency elsewhere, so that no prior knowledge of cut-on frequencies is required. Three steel-reinforced concrete beams were fabricated—one uniform and two with localised rebar damage—and reflection coefficients were estimated from measured transfer functions. As predicted, abrupt deviations in the reflection coefficient occurred at cut-on frequencies for both damaged beams.

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