Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection of Anchor Rods Embedded in Soil

  • Published:
Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ultrasonic guided wave nondestructive testing for small-diameter cylindrical steel anchor rods embedded in soil was experimentally studied by using piezoelectric probes attached to the sides of the rods. The 60-kHz longitudinal [L(0,1)] mode was chosen as the guided wave for pulse-echo measurements on anchor rods with a diameter of around fifteen millimeters mainly because of its low attenuation due to energy leakage into the surrounding soil. Pulse-echo measurements were performed by using four transmitting and four receiving probes attached to the sides of anchor rods protruding above ground. Appropriate procedures for the transmission and reception can selectively generate the L(0,1) mode going in only the downward direction and can selectively extract the signal of the L(0,1) mode coming from only the lower direction, which considerably improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). An experimental study for detecting defects of artificial cross-sectional loss on embedded anchor rods was conducted to examine the fundamental performance of the measurements by means of evaluating the SNRs. An on-site field experiment on actually used equipment was carried out to examine the potential of estimating degrees of real corrosion wastage on embedded anchor rods. The results show that the attenuation rate of the L(0,1) mode in the buried part of the rod and distance amplitude correction (DAC) curves taking account of the attenuation rate are effective in estimating the degrees of corrosion wastage on embedded anchor rods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Leinov, E., Lowe, M.J.S., Cawley, P.: Investigation of guided wave propagation and attenuation in pipe buried in sand. J. Sound Vib. 347, 96–114 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Beard, M.D., Lowe, M.J.S., Cawley, P.: Ultrasonic guided waves for inspection of grouted tendons and bolts. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 15(3), 212–218 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Pavlakovic, B.N., Lowe, M.J.S., Cawley, P.: High-frequency low-loss ultrasonic modes in imbedded bars. J. Appl. Mech. 68, 67–75 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Beard, M.D., Lowe, M.J.S.: Non-destructive testing of rock bolts using guided ultrasonic waves. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 40, 527–536 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Na, W.B., Kundu, T., Ehsani, M.R.: Ultrasonic guided waves for steel bar concrete interface testing. Mater. Eval. 60, 437–444 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Long, R., Vogt, T., Lowe, M., Cawley, P.: Measurement of acoustic properties of near-surface soils using an ultrasonic waveguide. Geophysics 69(2), 460–465 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Shoji, M., Hirata, A.: Ultrasonic guided wave testing of anchor rods embedded in soil. In: Proceedings of 2016 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), 5H-2 (2016)

  8. Shoji, M., Sawada, T.: Guided wave attenuation in cylindrical bars surrounded by soil. In: Proceedings of 2013 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), Joint UFFC, EFTF and PFM Symposium, pp. 170–173 (2013)

  9. Shoji, M., Higashi, Y.: Fundamental study on guided wave testing of cylindrical bars embedded in soil. In: Proceedings of 2014 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), pp. 1404–1407 (2014)

  10. Alleyne, D.N., Cawley, P., Lank, A.M., Mudge, P.J.: The Lamb wave inspection of chemical plant pipework. In: Thompson, D.O., Chimenti, D.E. (eds.) Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation (QNDE), vol. 16, pp. 1269–1276. Springer, New York (1997)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. Alleyne, D.N., Cawley, P.: Long range propagation of Lamb waves in chemical plant pipework. Mater. Eval. 55, 504–508 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. Akihiko Hirata and Dr. Souichi Oka for their encouragement and support throughout this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NTT Device Technology Labs, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Pref., Japan

    Masanari Shoji

Authors
  1. Masanari Shoji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masanari Shoji.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shoji, M. Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection of Anchor Rods Embedded in Soil. J Nondestruct Eval 38, 96 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-019-0619-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-019-0619-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation