Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies

This paper presents a study to accurately evaluate defects in concrete decks using ultrasonic pulse-echo signals. A reinforced concrete deck with void defects was designed and evaluated for validation, and a commercial ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE) device was used to obtain the 2D images of the void d...

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Main Authors: Wael Zatar, Gang Chen, Hien Nghiem, Feng Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-06-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/11/4860
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author Wael Zatar
Gang Chen
Hien Nghiem
Feng Xiao
author_facet Wael Zatar
Gang Chen
Hien Nghiem
Feng Xiao
author_sort Wael Zatar
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents a study to accurately evaluate defects in concrete decks using ultrasonic pulse-echo signals. A reinforced concrete deck with void defects was designed and evaluated for validation, and a commercial ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE) device was used to obtain the 2D images of the void defect inside the deck. The UPE image is based on the ultrasonic shear-wave test method and an extended synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). To enhance the accuracy of the defect location in the SAFT imaging, the recorded A-scan data from UPE was analyzed using an advanced denoising approach and defect echo peak extraction, which are based on empirical modal decomposition, Hurst exponent characterization, and Hilbert envelope estimation. The results demonstrated that the location and depth of the void defect in the deck can be accurately assessed by using the developed approach. The new method provides quantitative information of the anomalies inside the deck, which can be used to calibrate the qualitative images of UPC devices with the SAFT.
format Article
id doaj-art-10e87c8eb2ba4e9db490532d2d3cbd08
institution Kabale University
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-10e87c8eb2ba4e9db490532d2d3cbd082025-08-20T03:36:10ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-06-011411486010.3390/app14114860Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete AnomaliesWael Zatar0Gang Chen1Hien Nghiem2Feng Xiao3College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USACollege of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USACollege of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, ChinaThis paper presents a study to accurately evaluate defects in concrete decks using ultrasonic pulse-echo signals. A reinforced concrete deck with void defects was designed and evaluated for validation, and a commercial ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE) device was used to obtain the 2D images of the void defect inside the deck. The UPE image is based on the ultrasonic shear-wave test method and an extended synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). To enhance the accuracy of the defect location in the SAFT imaging, the recorded A-scan data from UPE was analyzed using an advanced denoising approach and defect echo peak extraction, which are based on empirical modal decomposition, Hurst exponent characterization, and Hilbert envelope estimation. The results demonstrated that the location and depth of the void defect in the deck can be accurately assessed by using the developed approach. The new method provides quantitative information of the anomalies inside the deck, which can be used to calibrate the qualitative images of UPC devices with the SAFT.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/11/4860nondestructive testing (NDT)ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE)synthetic aperture focusing techniqueMIRAreinforced concrete deckanomalies
spellingShingle Wael Zatar
Gang Chen
Hien Nghiem
Feng Xiao
Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
Applied Sciences
nondestructive testing (NDT)
ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE)
synthetic aperture focusing technique
MIRA
reinforced concrete deck
anomalies
title Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
title_full Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
title_fullStr Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
title_full_unstemmed Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
title_short Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Signals for Quantitative Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Anomalies
title_sort ultrasonic pulse echo signals for quantitative assessment of reinforced concrete anomalies
topic nondestructive testing (NDT)
ultrasonic pulse-echo (UPE)
synthetic aperture focusing technique
MIRA
reinforced concrete deck
anomalies
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/11/4860
work_keys_str_mv AT waelzatar ultrasonicpulseechosignalsforquantitativeassessmentofreinforcedconcreteanomalies
AT gangchen ultrasonicpulseechosignalsforquantitativeassessmentofreinforcedconcreteanomalies
AT hiennghiem ultrasonicpulseechosignalsforquantitativeassessmentofreinforcedconcreteanomalies
AT fengxiao ultrasonicpulseechosignalsforquantitativeassessmentofreinforcedconcreteanomalies