Title: Concrete Subsurface Crack Characterization by Means of Surface Rayleigh Wave Method

Author(s): Foo Wei Lee, Hwa Kian Chai, Kok Sing Lim, and See Hung Lau

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 116

Issue: 1

Appears on pages(s): 113-123

Keywords: amplitude; excitation frequency; Rayleigh wave; reinforced concrete; subsurface crack; velocity

DOI: 10.14359/51710967

Date: 1/1/2019

Abstract:
A multichannel linear array Rayleigh wave (R-wave) methodology is studied for evaluating subsurface cracks on concrete. Numerical simulations were first conducted to understand the propagation of R-waves in steel-reinforced concrete comprising subsurface cracks with different depths and lengths followed by a series of experimental measurements on concrete samples with induced artificial subsurface cracks. The changes in R-wave amplitude and velocity were analyzed to obtain correlations with the crack depth-to-wavelength/length-to-wavelength ratio. Results revealed that the difference between the estimated and actual characteristics of subsurface cracks (crack length and depth) was less than ±20%, showing a possibility for using R-wave methodology to assess subsurface cracks in reinforced concrete with the proposed acquisition, extraction, and analysis methodology.