Ultrasonic testing of concrete structures

Although the application of conventional ultrasonic techniques are limited by the nature of concrete, modified ultrasonic techniques have been applied to detect internal cracking and other discontinuities, monitor changes such as deterioration due to aggressive environments, estimate inplace strength and monitor material strength and stiffness gain over time. This paper reviews the application of selected ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques to concrete structures. The theoretical bases and onsite application cases of the through thickness pulse velocity test, ultrasonic imaging and high frequency ultrasonic interface reflection measurements are described.