Steel rebars is a vital component in reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed concrete structures since they provide mechanical functions to those structures. Damages occurred to steel rebars can lead to the premature failure of concrete structures. Characterization of steel rebars using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) offers engineers and decision makers important information for effective/good repair of aging concrete structures. Among existing NDE techniques, microwave/radar NDE has been proven to be a promising technique for surface and subsurface sensing of concrete structures. The objective of this paper is to use microwave/radar NDE to characterize steel rebar grids in free space, as a basis for the subsurface sensing of steel rebars inside RC structures. A portable 10-GHz radar system based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging was used in this paper. Effect of rebar grid spacing was considered and used to define subsurface steel rebar grids. Five rebar grid spacings were used; 12.7 cm (5 in.), 17.78 cm (7 in.), 22.86 cm (9 in.), 27.94 cm (11 in.), and 33.02 cm (13 in.) # 3 rebars were used in all grid specimens. All SAR images were collected inside an anechoic chamber. It was found that SAR images can successfully capture the change of rebar grid spacing and used for quantifying the spacing of rebar grids. Empirical models were proposed to estimate actual rebar spacing and contour area using SAR images.
Ultrasonic corrosion detection has been developed and widely applied in non-invasive tests in civil engineering. This paper demonstrates real time fiber optic ultrasonic corrosion detection on reinforcing rebar based on photoacoustic (PA) principle in non-invasive tests in civil engineering. The optical acoustic sensors are fabricated to monitoring the corrosion of rebar in concrete. This paper explores an approach to make an assessment for the level of rebar corrosion as well. From the experimental results, the trend of central frequency had a shift to lower based on the development of corrosion. Since the sensor can measure the rebar corrosion timely, it will have a significant step on structural health monitoring.
Detection and quantification of moisture content inside wood (timber) is key to ensuring safety and reliability of timber structures. Moisture inside wood attracts insects and fosters the development of fungi to attack the timber, causing significant damages and reducing the load bearing capacity during their design life. The use of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques (e.g., microwave/radar, ultrasonic, stress wave, and X-ray) for condition assessment of timber structures is a good choice. NDE techniques provide information about the level of deterioration and material properties of timber structures without obstructing their functionality. In this study, microwave/radar NDE technique was selected for the characterization of wood at different moisture contents. A 12 in-by-3.5 in-by-1.5 in. white spruce specimen (picea glauca) was imaged at different moisture contents using a 10 GHz synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor inside an anechoic chamber. The presence of moisture was found to increase the SAR image amplitude as expected. Additionally, integrated SAR amplitude was found beneficial in modeling the moisture content inside the wood specimen.
Structural steel members have become integral components in the construction of civil engineering infrastructures such as bridges, stadiums, and shopping centers due to versatility of steel. Owing to the uniqueness in the design and construction of steel structures, rigorous non-destructive evaluation techniques are needed during construction and operation processes to prevent the loss of human lives and properties. This research aims at investigating the application of photoacoustic fiber optic transducers (FOT) for detecting surface rust of a steel rod. Surface ultrasonic waves propagation in intact and corroded steel rods was simulated using finite element method (FEM). Radial displacements were collected and short-time Fourier transform (STFT) was applied to obtain the spectrogram. It was found that the presence of surface rust between the FOT and the receiver can be detected in both time and frequency domain. In addition, spectrogram can be used to locate and quantify surface rust. Furthermore, a surface rust detection algorithm utilizing the FOT has been proposed for detection, location and quantification of the surface rust.
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging of construction materials offers civil engineers an opportunity to better assess the condition of aging civil infrastructures such as reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Corrosion of steel rebar in RC structures is a major problem responsible for their premature failure and unexpected collapse. In this paper, SAR imaging is applied to the quantitative assessment of corroded steel rebar in free space as the first step toward the use of SAR imaging for subsurface sensing of aging RC structures. A 10 GHz stripmap SAR system was used inside an anechoic chamber. The bandwidth of the radar system was 1.5 GHz. Steel rebar specimens were artificially corroded to different levels by regularly applying a mist of 5% NaCl solution for different durations of time in order to simulate the condition of natural corrosion. Two sizes (No. 3 and No. 4) of steel rebar were used in this research. Different orientations of steel rebar were considered. Corrosion level was determined by measuring the mass loss of corroded steel rebar specimens. From our results, feasibility of SAR images for the condition assessment of corroded steel rebar was experimentally demonstrated. It was found that the presence of surface rust on corroded steel rebar reduces the amplitude in SAR images. The SAR image of corroded steel rebar also exhibited a distribution of SAR amplitudes different from the one of intact steel rebar. In addition, it was also found that there is an optimal range for the condition assessment of corroded steel rebar in free space. In our experiment, the optimal range was determined to be 30.4 cm.
Modern improvised explosive device (IED) and mine detection sensors using microwave technology are based on
ground penetrating radar operated by a ground vehicle. Vehicle size, road conditions, and obstacles along the troop
marching direction limit operation of such sensors. This paper presents a new conceptual design using a rotary unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry subsurface imaging radar for roadside IED detection. We have built a UAV flight
simulator with the subsurface imaging radar running in a laboratory environment and tested it with non-metallic and
metallic IED-like targets. From the initial lab results, we can detect the IED-like target 10-cm below road surface while
carried by a UAV platform. One of the challenges is to design the radar and antenna system for a very small payload
(less than 3 lb). The motion compensation algorithm is also critical to the imaging quality. In this paper, we also
demonstrated the algorithm simulation and experimental imaging results with different IED target materials, sizes, and
clutters.
Fiber optic acoustic generators have generated a lot of interest due to its great potential in many applications including nondestructive tests. This paper reports four acoustic generation configurations. All the configurations are based on gold nanoparticles/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites. Since gold nanoparticles have high absorption efficiency to optical energy and PDMS has a high coefficient of thermal expansion, the composites can transfer optical energy to ultrasonic waves with high conversion efficiency. The strength and bandwidth of ultrasonic waves generated by the composites can be changed by different designs and structures of the composites. This paper explores the relation between the structure of fiber optic acoustic generators and the profile of generated ultrasonic waves. Experimental results also demonstrated that four ultrasonic generation configurations have similar features of ultrasonic transmission on a steel plate, which is important for future choices of ultrasonic receivers.
The use of microwave and radar sensors in the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of damaged materials and
structures has been proven to be a promising approach. In this paper, a portable imaging radar sensor utilizing
10 GHz central frequency and stripmap synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging was applied to steel and wood
specimens for size and range determination. Relationships between range and properties of SAR images (e.g.
maximum amplitude and total SAR amplitude) were developed and reported for various specimens including a
steel bar (2.5 cm by 2.5 cm by 28.5 cm), a wood bar (2.5 cm by 2.5 cm by 28.5 cm), a steel plate (39.7 cm by
57.9 cm by 1.75 cm), and a wood board (30.5 cm by 30.5 cm by 1.8 cm). Various ranges from 30 cm to 100 cm
were used on these specimens. In our experiment, attenuation of radar signals collected by the imaging radar
system on different material specimens was measured and modeled. Change in the attenuation of maximum SAR
amplitude was observed in different materials. It is found that SAR images can be used to distinguish materials
of different compositions and sizes.
Corrosion of steel reinforcing bars (rebars) is the primary cause for the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures. Traditional corrosion monitoring methods such as half-cell potential and linear polarization resistance can only detect the presence of corrosion but cannot quantify it. This study presents an experimental investigation of quantifying degree of corrosion of steel rebar inside cement mortar specimens using ultrasonic testing (UT). A UT device with two 54 kHz transducers was used to measure ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of cement mortar, uncorroded and corroded reinforced cement mortar specimens, utilizing the direct transmission method. The results obtained from the study show that UPV decreases linearly with increase in degree of corrosion and corrosion-induced cracks (surface cracks). With respect to quantifying the degree of corrosion, a model was developed by simultaneously fitting UPV and surface crack width measurements to a two-parameter linear model. The proposed model can be used for predicting the degree of corrosion of steel rebar embedded in cement mortar under similar conditions used in this study up to 3.03%. Furthermore, the modeling approach can be applied to corroded reinforced concrete specimens with additional modification. The findings from this study show that UT has the potential of quantifying the degree of corrosion inside reinforced cement mortar specimens.
The use of radar non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique for condition assessment of deteriorated civil infrastructure systems is an effective approach for preserving the sustainability of these systems. Radar NDE utilizes the interaction between radar signals (electromagnetic waves) and construction materials for surface and subsurface sensing based on dielectric properties and geometry. In the success of radar inspection, it is imperative to develop models capable of predicting the dielectric properties of the materials under investigation. The dielectric properties (dielectric constant and loss factor) of oven-dried cement paste specimens with water-to-cement (w/c) ratios (0.35, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55) in the frequency range of 1.02 GHz to 4.50 GHz were studied and modeled using modified Debye's models. An open-ended coaxial probe and a network analyzer were used to measure dielectric properties. Forward models are proposed and inversed for predicting the w/c ratio of a given oven-dried cement paste specimen. Modeling results agreed with the experimental data. The proposed models can be used for predicting the dielectric properties of oven-dried cement paste specimens. Also, the modeling approach can be applied to other cementitious materials (e.g., concrete) with additional modification.
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