NONDESTRUCTIVE STRENGTH ASSESSMENT OF CONCRETE-BASED STRUCTURES

METHODS FOR RELIABLY ASSESSING THE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE MEMBERS WILL BE DEVELOPED USING NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (NDE) PROCEDURES INVOLVING SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF STRESS-WAVE PARAMETERS. THESE PROCEDURES ARE BASED ON THE EXTENSION OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON NDE OF CONCRETE AND THE VAST EXPERIENCE OF THIS STAFF IN NDE AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF WOOD-BASED STRUCTURES. DEVELOPMENT OF A RELIABLE, ACCURATE NDE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE FOR IN-SITU OR CRITICAL CONCRETE MEMBERS WILL ENABLE ENGINEERS TO EVALUATE THE REHABILITATION POTENTIAL OF EXISTING STRUCTURES OR QUANTIFY THE STRUCTURAL CAPACITY OF CRITICAL STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS DURING INVESTIGATIONS. THE ABILITY TO RATE THE STRUCTURAL CAPACITY OF IN-SERVICE CONCRETE MEMBERS WILL IMPROVE THE FEASIBILITY OF REHABILITATING CONCRETE STRUCTURES AND INCREASE THE SAFETY OF CRITICAL SYSTEMS. WITH THE MANY THOUSANDS OF CONCRETE-BASED STRUCTURES, THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF RENOVATION AND INCREASED SAFETY IS ENOROMOUS. INCREASED QUALITY CONTROL WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH USE OF THIS NDE TECHNIQUE DURING THE MANUFACTURING OF PRE-CAST MEMBERS. THE OVERALL COMBINATION OF BENEFITS REGARDING REHABILITATION, STRENGTH ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL SYSTEMS, AND SAFETY AND RELIABILITY QUANTIFICATION STRONGLY SUPPORT THE NEED FOR THIS RESEARCH.