Detection of rebars in concrete using advanced ultrasonic pulse compression techniques

S Laureti; M Ricci; M N I B Mohamed; L Senni; L A J Davis; D A Hutchins

doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2017.12.010

Detection of rebars in concrete using advanced ultrasonic pulse compression techniques

Ultrasonics. 2018 Apr:85:31-38. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2017.12.010. Epub 2017 Dec 30.

Authors

S Laureti¹, M Ricci², M N I B Mohamed³, L Senni⁴, L A J Davis³, D A Hutchins³

Affiliations

¹ Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Polo Scientifico Didattico di Terni, 05100 Terni, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.laureti@unipg.it.
² Dipartimento di Ingegneria Informatica, Modellistica, Elettronica e Sistemistica, Università della Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
³ School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
⁴ Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Polo Scientifico Didattico di Terni, 05100 Terni, Italy.

PMID: 29310943
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultras.2017.12.010

Abstract

A pulse compression technique has been developed for the non-destructive testing of concrete samples. Scattering of signals from aggregate has historically been a problem in such measurements. Here, it is shown that a combination of piezocomposite transducers, pulse compression and post processing can lead to good images of a reinforcement bar at a cover depth of 55 mm. This has been achieved using a combination of wide bandwidth operation over the 150-450 kHz range, and processing based on measuring the cumulative energy scattered back to the receiver. Results are presented in the form of images of a 20 mm rebar embedded within a sample containing 10 mm aggregate.

Keywords: Coded waveforms; Concrete; Imaging; Non-destructive testing; Pulse compression; Ultrasonic.