Attenuation Measurements In Concrete By Means Of Rayleigh Surface Waves
Open Access
Author:
Howells, Jonathan Eugene
Area of Honors:
Engineering Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Clifford Jesse Lissenden III, Thesis Supervisor Clifford Jesse Lissenden III, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Charles E. Bakis, Thesis Honors Advisor Judith A Todd Copley, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Rayleigh Attenuation Ultrasonic Concrete
Abstract:
A drastically high number of concrete roadways nationwide are not surviving their design life. This problem must be remedied because deteriorating concrete affects many people globally in many different ways. The impacts of concrete deterioration include but are not limited to increasing commute time to and from work, creating unsafe traveling for motorists, creating unsafe working conditions for roadway construction workers, eating away at state appropriated funds, and generating unwanted concrete remnants from replaced structures. The failure in quality is not necessarily a design flaw but more so an inability to accurately obtain and characterize freshly poured concrete’s air void system parameters. The parameters being most germane to this project are air content, spacing factor, and specific surface. In this project we investigate current applicable concrete inspection methods, design and implement an alternative inspection method employing ultrasound (Rayleigh Waves) for the purpose of obtaining accurate wave speed and attenuation measurements in hardened concrete. Hopefully, these tests will aid in characterizing air void systems, with respect spacing and specific surface, in fresh concrete.
