Search

This study investigates the non-destructive detection of delaminations in concrete plates using non-contact laser ablation, instead of the conventional hammer excitation, as part of the impact echo method. We performed tests on five concrete specimens of different sizes, two of which contained artificial delaminations. A range of steel ball hammers was used as reference impulse sources, the responses of which were compared with wave excitation generated by a 7 ns pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with 150 mJ pulse energy. Signals were recorded by surface-mounted accelerometers and two contactless methods: microphones and a laser Doppler vibrometer. The laser generates frequencies across a broad range of frequencies (0 to 150 kHz) but with much less energy than the hammers' narrower frequency spectra; the laser pulse energy transferred into the specimen is 0.07 mJ, corresponding to about 0.5 ‰ of the impulse source energy. Because of this, the thick intact plates' characteristic thickness stretch resonance frequency can be reliably detected by the hammer excitations but not when using laser excitation. However, the laser can excite low-frequency flexural vibration modes over a shallow delamination at 3 cm depth. The low-frequency flexural vibration results are verified by numerical natural frequency analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound is commonly utilized to determine the dynamic Young's moduli for estimating material deterioration or quantifying material parameters. This is either done with a resonance frequency analysis or ultrasound for rock or concrete specimens in geophysics or civil engineering. For ultrasound, these are typically cylindrical specimens measured in a through-transmission arrangement. However, this method presents some challenges, such as the need to accurately determine the onset of each wave mode and to calibrate system latency. To overcome these challenges, this study introduces a novel method that utilizes wavefield simulation and full-waveform inversion to estimate p- and s-wave, also called compression and shear wave, velocities. Where the traditional method requires two measurements, this innovative approach requires only one measurement with a single p-wave transducer. The s-wave velocity is estimated considering mode conversions within the specimen. High-fidelity ultrasound simulations are necessary for this approach. For that reason, the spatially distributed excitation of the ultrasound transducer is characterized by a laser Doppler vibrometer measurement. This led to a good estimate of the directivity pattern of the ultrasound transducer. The inverse problem for determining p- and s-wave velocity was solved successfully using a suitable misfit or cost function, the so-called graph-optimal-transport misfit. The specimens for the proof of concept study include six different metals. The precision of the estimated velocities using full-waveform inversion was compared with manual picking. As the simulated and measured waveforms matched well, this study can be seen as a starting point for material parameter determination for more complex geometries and heterogeneous materials using full-waveform inversion. • A new method for calibration of a ultrasound transducer in a simulation based on a laser Doppler vibrometer measurement. • Evaluation of different misfit/cost function for solving the inverse problem with full-waveform inversion (FWI). • Successful solution to the inverse problem using the graph optimal transport misfit. • FWI approach requires only one measurement with a single p-wave transducer, estimating s-wave velocity considering mode conversions. • Comparison of the material parameters determined with FWI with manual picking for 6 different metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]