Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Concrete

The demand for reliable nondestructive evaluation §(NDE) methods to investigate concrete has §drastically increased in recent years. Among the NDE §techniques that can be used in concrete, ultrasound §has become the most versatile and reliable. An §important aspect of ultrasound is the existence of §three interrelated parameters that are associated §with wave propagation: velocity, amplitude, and §attenuation, these parameters can be used for §obtaining information about diffuse damage and mix §characteristics. This book explores new applications §of ultrasonic testing. Pulses were applied to §estimate damage in concrete due to mechanical §loading and a methodology to estimate aggregate §grain-size distribution was developed. The technique §explores the flexibility of the wavelet transform. §Because of the emphasis on practical applications, §the book is accessible to a wide audience. Civil §Engineers and researches that work with NDE of §concrete will find the book useful and interesting. §Since the wavelet analysis of the pulses can also be§applied to other NDE techniques, such as impact-echo§and acoustic emission, the book should be of §interest to users or researchers of NDE.