A Microstructural Basis for Diffuse Ultrasound in Concrete
Published: 2022
Hassefras, E.
Oesch, T.
Niederleithinger, E.
Publication Name: The International Symposium on Nondestructive Testing in Civil Engineering
Publication URL: https://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2022/paper/61592_manuscript.pdf
Abstract:
Attenuation of ultrasonic signals in concrete has the potential to carry much information about the microstructure of the material. In this work a series of concrete specimens of varying porosities and pore size distributions were internally imaged with x-ray computed tomography (CT), and then subsequently examined with through- transmission ultrasound. The CT images were used to quantify both capillary porosity of cement paste as well as internal interfaces that are likely to produce elastic wave scattering. Ultrasound signals were represented as a diffusion process such that absorption and scattering attenuation could be isolated. As implemented, the diffusion model was a poor predictor of capillary porosity, while diffusivity was a reasonable predictor of scattering interfaces. Diffusivity was found to scale extremely well with small scale porosity, which made it a good predictor of compressive strength.