Recent Work on Concrete Non-destructive Evaluation

John S. Popovics
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Date:  Tuesday, October 1, 2002
Time:  3:30 p.m.
Place:  W183 Nebraska Hall


The deterioration of concrete in structures, which may result from several degradation mechanisms, may compromise the integrity of the structure. To assess the condition of concrete structures, a wide range of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) tests have been developed. NDE techniques based on mechanical wave propagation have been particularly successful. In this presentation, recent work by the author in this area is described. Following a brief introduction, shear wave reflection measurements are shown to monitor the setting of early-age concrete. Then the utility of surface wave transmission measurements for the measurement of the depth of surface-breaking cracks in hardened concrete is demonstrated. Finally, the concepts behind and preliminary results of non-contact wave sensing techniques and rapid imaging of concrete are presented.