Title:
Time Frequency Analysis of Impact-Echo Signals: Numerical Modeling and Experimental Validation
Author(s):
Odile Abraham, Christelle Leonard, Philippe Cote, and Bogdan Piwakowski
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
97
Issue:
6
Appears on pages(s):
645-657
Keywords:
concrete; slab; test
DOI:
10.14359/9978
Date:
11/1/2000
Abstract:
Since the middle of the 1980s, the impact-echo method, based on an analysis of the transient response of structures in the frequency domain, has been applied successfully to several kinds of fault search techniques for concrete. The objective of this paper is to present a signal processing technique that can improve interpretation of impact-echo signals either when the current method fails or when the diagnosis is not straightforward. This new time frequency analysis of the signal is presented both through the analysis of numerical signals calculated using the finite element method, and through the analysis of experimental signals recorded on a concrete test slab. The paper also reviews, by means of a comprehensive and efficient signal processing model, the main set of parameters influencing the method.