CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES USING ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

Deterioration of reinforced concrete infrastructure is a major problem in the United States. Electromagnetic (EM) waves have shown increasing potential for the rapid evaluation of concrete conditions in situ. The objective of this research is to develop models for synthesis and inversion of radar waveforms from reinforced concrete structures. These models can be used to analyze radar data and predict the condition of the structure. A previous paper presented several models to predict the velocity and attenuation of EM waves in concrete. This paper develops an empirical model based on experimental results to account for the reflection produced from reinforcing bars embedded within the concrete. Concrete and reinforcing bar models were used to synthesize waveforms for representative reinforced concrete bridge deck geometries. Numerical studies were carried out to observe the influence of various conditions on the computed waveforms. A least squares inversion procedure was applied to the synthetic waveforms. Results indicate that spatial variations in volumetric water content, salt content, and reinforcing bar cover can be determined by analyzing radar waveforms.

• Record URL:
  http://www.concrete.org/Publications/InternationalConcreteAbstractsPortal.aspx.aspx?m=details&i=890
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/13846872
• Corporate Authors:

  American Concrete Institute

  P.O. Box 19150, Redford Station, 22400 Seven Mile Road
  Detroit, MI  United States  48219
• Authors:
  • Halabe, U B
  • Maser, K R
  • Kausel, E A
• Publication Date: 1995-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 511-523
• Serial:
  • ACI Materials Journal
  • Volume: 92
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: American Concrete Institute (ACI)
  • ISSN: 0889-325X
  • Serial URL: https://www.concrete.org/publications/acimaterialsjournal.aspx

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Concrete; Dielectric properties; Electromagnetic waves; Field tests; Microwaves; Monitoring; Reinforcing steel
• Uncontrolled Terms: Condition monitoring
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; I32: Concrete;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00714659
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 26 1995 12:00AM