Abstract
The impact-echo (IE) test method has been widely used to determine the thickness of a plate and to locate delaminations in reinforced-concrete structures. It was later realized that the IE mode is related to the Zero-Group-Velocity S1 Lamb mode (S1ZGV). An efficient inspection of a structure using rapid, noncontact, air-coupled sensing technology is of great interest. The objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of air-coupled sensing to detect the ZGV Lamb mode signals. Numerical simulation and experimental verification were performed to study the in-air ZGV vibration responses induced by a point impact applied on a concrete plate. Two concrete plates, one without delamination and one with delamination, were tested and simulated. For each plate, the simulation results agreed well with the experimental results, and both methods estimated the plate thickness precisely. The numerical simulations also visualized the pressure field in the air and are helpful for interpretation of the experimental results. The numerical and experimental results suggest that the air-coupled sensing technology can serve as an effective and rapid inspection tool for large concrete structures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Li, C.Q.: Life-cycle modeling of corrosion-affected concrete structures: propagation. J. Struct. Eng. 129(6), 753 (2003)
Cady, P.D., Weyers, R.E.: Deterioration rates of concrete bridge decks. J. Transp. Eng. 110(1), 34 (1984)
Sansalone, M., Carino, N.J., Center for Building Technology, Structures Division: Impact-echo: a method for flaw detection in concrete using transient stress waves. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, Center for Building Technology, Structures Division, Gaithersburg, MD (1986)
Sansalone, M.: Impact-echo the complete story. ACI Struct. J. 94(6), 777–786 (1997)
Gibson, A., Popovics, J.S.: Lamb wave basis for impact-echo method analysis. J. Eng. Mech. 131(4), 438 (2005)
Holland, S.D., Chimenti, D.E.: Air-coupled acoustic imaging with zero-group-velocity Lamb modes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(13), 2704 (2003)
Prada, C., Balogun, O., Murray, T.W.: Laser-based ultrasonic generation and detection of zero-group velocity Lamb waves in thin plates. Appl. Phys. Lett. 87(19), 194109 (2005)
Clorennec, D., Prada, C., Royer, D.: Local and noncontact measurements of bulk acoustic wave velocities in thin isotropic plates and shells using zero group velocity Lamb modes. J. Appl. Phys. 101(3), 034908 (2007)
Prada, C., Clorennec, D., Royer, D.: Local vibration of an elastic plate and zero-group velocity Lamb modes. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 124(1), 203–212 (2008)
Zhu, J., Popovics, J.S.: Imaging concrete structures using air-coupled impact-echo. J. Eng. Mech. 133(6), 628 (2007)
Achenbach, J.D.: Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1973)
Meitzler, A.H.: Backward-wave transmission of stress pulses in elastic cylinders and plates. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 38(5), 835 (1965)
Dai, X., Zhu, J., Tsai, Y.-T., Haberman, M.R.: Use of parabolic reflector to amplify in-air signals generated during impact-echo testing. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130(4), EL167 (2011)
Zhu, J., Popovics, J.S., Schubert, F.: Leaky Rayleigh and Scholte waves at the fluid-solid interface subjected to transient point loading. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 116(4), 2101 (2004)
Wang, Y.-C., Murti, V., Valliappan, S.: Assessment of the accuracy of the Newmark method in transient analysis of wave propagation problems. Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 21(11), 987–1004 (1992)
Alleyne, D., Cawley, P.: A two-dimensional Fourier transform method for the measurement of propagating multimode signals. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89(3), 1159–1168 (1991)
Zienkiewicz, O.C., Taylor, R.L., Zhu, J.Z.: The Finite Element Method: Its Basis and Fundamentals. Butterworth-Heinemann, Stoneham (2005)
Zhu, J.: Non-contact NDT of concrete structures using air-coupled sensors. Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005)
Oh, T.: Defect characterization in concrete elements using vibration analysis and imaging. Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2012)
Gibson, A.: Advances in nondestructive testing of concrete pavements. Doctoral thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006)
Wilcox, P.: Modeling the excitation of Lamb and SH waves by point and line sources. In: AIP Conference Proceedings (QNDE v23), vol. 23, pp. 206–213 (2004)
Acknowledgement
This study was sponsored by NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tsai, YT., Zhu, J. Simulation and Experiments of Airborne Zero-Group-Velocity Lamb Waves in Concrete Plate. J Nondestruct Eval 31, 373–382 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-012-0148-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-012-0148-6