Applying diffuse ultrasound under dynamic loading to improve closed crack characterization in concrete

Cedric Payan (1) , Audrey Quiviger (1, 2) , Vincent Garnier (1) , Jean François Chaix (3) , Jean Salin (2)

1 LMA - Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique [Marseille]
2 EDF - EDF
3 O&I - Ondes et Imagerie

Recent studies show the ability of diffuse ultrasound to characterize surface breaking cracks in concrete. However, derived parameters are sensitive to the presence of partially opened zones along the crack whose pattern may differ from one sample to another. The aim of this letter is to study the variation of diffuse ultrasound parameters while the sample is driven by a low frequency bending load which alternatively opens and closes the crack, allowing to access supplementary information about its morphology. The results show the sensitivity of the method for various crack depths and highlight its potential for concrete nondestructive evaluation.

Mots clés: bending; concrete; structural acoustics; surface cracks; ultrasonics

Domaines: Mécanique [physics.med-ph]

Cedric Payan, Audrey Quiviger, Vincent Garnier, Jean François Chaix, Jean Salin. Applying diffuse ultrasound under dynamic loading to improve closed crack characterization in concrete. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2013, 134 (2), pp.EL211-EL216. ⟨10.1121/1.4813847⟩. ⟨hal-00861452⟩