Non Destructive Test

of concrete element
NIRAV SHAH
Content 2
• Introduction

• Brief of NDT Test

• Rebound Hammer Test

• Upv Test

• Electromagnetic cover measurement

• Radiography

• Latest Technology in NDT

• References
 Testing 3

Non-destructive Destructive
Concrete
Testing

 Does not destroys the

 Carried out until
test specimen
specimen’s failure
 after testing, allow the
 will render the part
part to be used for its
unusable for its
intended purpose
intended purpose
 Why NDT? 4

 Assessment of Existing Structures in the Absence of Drawings

 Quick assessment of the structure

 Quality control of Construction , in situ

 Determining position of reinforcement

 Location of Cracks/Joints/Honeycombing

 In some cases, it required to assess of concrete damaged due to

fire or any other natural calamity due judge the condition of
structure
 Scope 5

 Suggest the methodology to be followed &

applicability of non destructive testing.

 Automatic interpretation of data from NDT, with

the goal of detecting flaws accurately and
efficiently.

 To propose retrofitting techniques for structures

failing in this kind of testing.
 Cost Effectiveness 6

 Destructive testing
 Huge Cost initially has to put in
for taking sample and then to
test it.

 NDT
 Its very easy and simple process
and a lot many tests can be
performed on concrete less
amount require for sampling of
concrete
NDT Advantages 7

► Access to hidden items – “see through walls”

► Better investigations with NDT

► Rapid & on site accumulation of data

► Generally less expensive than destructive testing.

► Gives result without structural damage

NDT Disadvantages 8

► More than one test method may be required

► Environmental conditions may effect or distort results

► Construction details & building components may effect results

► Some conditions cannot be determined with a reasonable degree of

accuracy without destructive testing

 BRIEF OF NDT TEST 9
1)Strength evaluation of Concrete
Measurement Application Equipment
No.

Surface strength
Surface Zone Strength Rebound Hammer
(rebound number)
1 Assessment

Homogeneity of
Quality of Concrete Ultrasonic pulse
2 Concrete
velocity meter

Combined
Uniformity/homogeneity,
ultrasonic and
Location of internal defects Ultrasonic Pulse
3 rebound number
velocity tester
determination

Pull-off strength Surface Zone Strength

Pull off Tester
4 (bond strength Assessment
 10

No. Measurement Application Equipment

5 Pull out force Surface zone strength Pull out “Lock” Test
assessment (Construction Stage)
Pull Out “Capo” Test (after
construction

6 Break off test The break off test at Break off tester
failure can be related to
compressive or flexural
strength

7 Penetration Surface Zone Strength Windsor Probe

resistance Assessment

Guidebook of NDT of Bridge , Railway

 11
2)Corrosion assessment, location and dia. of rebar and cover

No Measurement Application Equipment

1 Corrosion Status of Corrosion Half Cell

potential (half-cell) activity Potential Meter

2 Resistivity Rate of probable Resistivity Meter

corrosion

3 Carbonation depth Corrosion risk and Carbonation Test

cause Kit

4 Chloride content Corrosion risk and Chloride Field

cause Test System
 12

No. Measurement Application Equipment

5 Voids and Corrosion Viewing interior of Endoscopy
concrete

6 Scanning Of dia. of It is used for locating Profometer

rebar and cover rebars , diameter of
rebars and concrete
cover
7 Cover and re-bar Corrosion risk and Micro Cover
measurement cause Meter
 13
3) Crack measurement in buildings and structures

No. Measurement Application Equipment

1 Length changes Strain measurement digital strain gauges

2 Radiographic Cracks, location of Radiographic source

Images rebars and detector

3 Acoustic Emission To measure the SPARTAN & MISTRAS

technique location and activity of System
cracks
4 Infra Red Images Cracks, delamination Infra Red Thermal
Imaging Systems
 Rebound Hammer Test 14

 Object
► To find the compressive strength of
concrete with the help of suitable
correlation between rebound index
and compressive strength

► Assessing the uniformity of concrete

► Assessing the quality of concrete in

relation to standard requirement

IS 13311(Part2):1992
Principle 15

 It works on the principle that the rebound of an

elastic mass depends on the hardness of the surface

against which the mass impinges

Apparatus 16

Rebound Hammer
Impact energy for Different
17
Application

No Application Impact energy

(Nm)

1 For testing normal weight concrete 2.25

2 For light-weight concrete or small and 0.75

impact sensitive Parts of Concrete

3 For testing mass concrete for example in 30.0

roads airfields pavements and hydraulic
structures

IS 13311(Part2):1992
Procedure 18
 Important Points 19

 For testing smooth clean and dry surface is to be selected

 Rough surface resulting from incomplete compaction, loss of grout, spalled

surface do not give reliable result and should be avoided

 The point of impact should be at least 20 mm away from any edge or shape
discontinuity

 For taking measurement the rebound hammer should be held at right angle to
the surface of concrete member

 Around each point of observation, six average of these reading of rebound

indices are taken and average of these reading after deleting outliers becomes
the rebound index for the point of observation

IS 13311(Part2):1992
Factors affecting Test result 20

► Type of cement
Concrete made with high alumina
cement can give strength 100%
higher than that with OPC cement.
concrete made with super
sulphate cement can give 50%
lower strength
 Type of aggregate
Gravels and crushed rock
aggregates give similar correlation
,but concrete made with light
weight aggregates require special
calibration

Comparison of hard and soft gravels

Tcs , John h. Bungey

Factors affecting Test result 21

► Surface condition and Moisture

content of Concrete
Test is suitable only for close texture
concrete. Open texture concrete,
honeycombed concrete are
unsuitable
A wet surface will give 20% lower
strength in an equivalent dry
concrete

Influence of surface moisture condition

Tcs, John h. Bungey

Factors affecting Test result 22

► Age of concrete
Age can generally be ignored for concrete between 3 days and 3
months old
► Carbonation of concrete surface
The influence of carbonation of concrete surface on rebound number is
very significant. Carbonated concrete gives an 50% higher strength than
normal concrete
Interpretations of Results 23

www.spectro.in
New technology 24
 Digital test hammers are an advanced, completely
automated system for estimating concrete compressive
strength.

 Its calculation memory and recording functions allow for

quick easy and accurate test result.

 Discard values for multiple test result can be set the mean
median and compressive strength can also calculated.

 The addition of modern microprocessor technology allows

the data to be stored , printed and transferred to a
personal computer for further analysis or inclusion in your
reports

Guidebook of NDT of Bridge , Railway

 Ultrasonic Pulse velocity Test
25
 OBJECT

► The homogeneity of the concrete

► The presence of cracks, voids and other

imperfections

► Changes in the structure of the concrete

which may occur with time

► The quality of the concrete in relation to

standard requirements

► The values of dynamic elastic modulus of the

concrete
IS 13311(Part1):1992
UPV Test 26

 Principle

 The method is based on the principle that the

velocity of an ultrasonic pulse through any material

depends upon the density, modulus of elasticity of

material
 Apparatus 27

The UPV equipment includes a transducer, a receiver and an

indicator for showing the time of travel from the transducer to
the receiver
 How it works? 28
 Ultrasonic waves are very similar to light
waves in that they can be reflected,
refracted, and focused.

 Reflection and refraction occurs when

sound waves interact with interfaces
of differing acoustic properties.

 Ultrasonic reflections from the presence

of discontinuities or geometric features
enables detection and location
 29

 A pulse of longitudinal vibration is produced by

an electro-acoustical transducer, which is held in
contact with one surface of the concrete V= 𝐿/𝑇
member under test. After traversing a known
path length(L) in the concrete, the pulse of
vibration is converted into an electrical signal by
a second electro-acoustical transducer, and where
electronic timing circuit enable the transit time V = pulse velocity
(km/s),
(T) of the pulse to be measured. The pulse
L = path length(cm) ,
velocity (V) is given by T = transit time(µs).

Guidebook of NDT of Bridge , Railway

 30

 The velocity of pulse in a concrete is related to the

concrete modulus of elasticity.

𝐸
 𝑉=
𝜌

where,

E = modulus of elasticity,

p =density of the concrete

 Transducer Arrangement 31

Direct Transmission Semi-direct Transmission Indirect or surface

Transmission

Guidebook of NDT of Bridge , Railway

Natural frequency of transducer for different Path length
32

Frequency range of 20 to 150 KHz

IS 13311(Part1):1992
Interpretations of Results 33

No Pulse velocity Concrete Quality

(km/s)

1 Above 4.5 Excellent

2 3.5 to 4.5 Good

3 3.0 to 3.5 Medium

4 Below 3.0 Doubtful

Is 1311(part1):1992
 Factors affecting
34
► Smoothness of contact surface under test
The pulse velocity of saturated concrete may be up to 2% higher than
that of similar dry concrete
► Path length, Shape and Size of the Concrete Member
► Temperature of concrete
5º-30º Ideal
30º -60º Reduction in UPV up to 5%
Below 5º increase up to 7.5%

► Stress of concrete
► Moisture condition of concrete
► Presence of reinforcing steel
pulse velocity in steel 1.2 to 1.9 times the velocity in plain concrete
Is 1311(part1):1992
Electromagnetic cover measurement 35
 The basic principle is that the presence of steel affects
the field of an electromagnet
 It is used to measure the concrete cover and bar
diameter in existing RCC structures. It can also identify
the bar locations and their spacing. The scanning area
permissible by the instrument is 0.5X0.5m / 1.0x1.0m /
2.0x2.0m.

Profometer

Guidebook of NDT of Bridge , Railway

Applications 36

 quality control to ensure correct location and cover to

reinforcing bars after concrete placement

 investigation of concrete members for which records are

not available or need to be checked

 location of buried ferromagnetic objects other than

reinforcement, e.g. water pipes, steel joists, lighting
conduits.

Guidebook of NDT,IAEA
 37

Covermeter image of
reinforcement in a
The scanning direction should be perpendicular to rebars structure

Tcs, john h. bungey

 HALF-CELL ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL
METHOD 38

 Corrosion analyzer is based on

electro chemical process to
detect corrosion in the
reinforcement bar of the
structure. The instrument
measures the potential and the
electrical resistance between the
reinforcement and the surface to
evaluate the corrosion activity
Apparatus for Half-Cell Potential Measurement
39
 How it works?
40

If there is no corrosion on rebars, If there is corrosion on rebars,

potential difference does not potential difference occurs.
occurs
Evaluation 41

Guidebook of NDT,IAEA
 Radiography
42
Principle

► When radiographic rays are directed into an object, some of the

photons interact with the particles of the matter and their
energy can be absorbed or scattered. This absorption and
scattering is called “Attenuation”.
 The relationship between the intensity of photons incident and transmitted
is:
where
I is transmitted photon intensity,
I0is incident photon intensity,
µ is attenuation coefficient,
x is thickness of object

RILEM STAR -207

Effect of attenuation 43

 As the radiation passes through the member

its intensity is reduced according to the
thickness, density and absorption
characteristics of the materials within the
member.

 The quantity of radiation passing through the

member is recorded on a film.
Setup for concrete test 44

www.novo-dr.com
Sources
45

Source of Iridium192

Source Radioactive Weight of Maximum thickness of

life source(kg) concrete element (cm)

Iridium 74 days 25 30
192
Cobalt 5.3 yr 120 40
60
Cobalt 5.3 yr 350 65
60
RILEM STAR -207
Application in Structural Engineering
46

 Moisture Content

 Detection of reinforcement location

 Detection of Voids and Cracks

 Detection of quality of grouted post-tensioned tendons

 Measurement of bar depth and flaw depth

 The failure of cables

 Discontinuities of the ducts

 Broken wires or cables in some cases

Detection of Reinforcement 47

 Reinforcing bars absorb more energy than the surrounding

concrete and show up as light areas on the exposed film.
 Determination of Cracks 48

 Cracks and voids, on the other hand, absorb less radiation and
show up as dark zones on the film.
 Crack planes parallel to the radiation direction are detected
more readily than cracks perpendicular to the radiation
direction.

www.aeromarineinterior.com
General cautions in radiography49

 Specifically trained and accredited persons for implementing the

technique

 Define a protection area around structure

 Move away all the persons during the entire test

Advantages 50

 Both surface and internal discontinuities can be detected.

 Significant variations in composition can be detected.

 It has a very few material limitations.

 Can be used for inspecting hidden areas (direct access to surface is not
required)

 Very minimal or no part preparation is required.

 Permanent test record is obtained.

 Good portability.
Disadvantages 51

 For application in Bridges with long span, the power required

will be very high

 Several hundred meters of area will need to be cleared so that

no possibility of accidental exposure.

 Not feasible in densely populated area

Latest Technology in NDT
52
 Automation and Scanning

Small lightweight scanner with vacuum

attachment
 Scanning Area Speed:
 Ultrasonic Echo/Impact Echo
1m2/h, 0.02 m point grid
 Radar :
15m2/h, 0.05 m line grid
BAM, Germany
 53

Crack
documentation
on Metropolitan
(1995)
Highways Tokyo

(View area
2 x 2 m2)
Self navigating Robot for horizontal surfaces
54
References
55
 IS 13311:1992 (PART 1) , NDT of Concrete-UPV Test
 IS 13311:1992 (PART 2) , NDT of Concrete-Rebound Hammer Test
 Guidelines on NDT of Bridges , Ministry of Railway
 Guidebook on NDT of concrete structures, INTERNATIONAL
ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA,
 State-of-the-Art Report of the RILEM Technical Committee
207-INR
 BAM- Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing ,
Berlin, Germany
 Testing of Concrete in Structures,4th edition, John H
Bungey , Stephen G Millard & Michael G Grantham
 56

Thank
you