Electrical resistivity measurement applied to cracking assessment on reinforced concrete structures in civil engineering

Non-destructive evaluation appears more and more important in the civil engineering economic stakes. In this context electrical resistivity measurements get sensitivity to parameters allowing to assess concrete structures conditions. This article analyses the ability of the resistivity measurement to study cracks in concrete. Its ability to detect and to locate cracks and spalling is shown with on site measurements on a damaged slab. Then specific studies on such disorders allow to distinguish the influence of their characteristics.The sensitivity of the method to cracks depth, according their moisture conditions, is assessed by computation. Experimental works on a reinforced concrete beam, ideally cracked, confirmed these results.Some assumptions based on measurements realised on a size-one structural component allow to assess the general influence of crack opening and bridging degree between crack lips.Qualitative results show the similar effects on measurement of various cracking parameters. Prospective works presented in the paper lead us to say that electrical resistivity method applied to civil engineering structures is a relevant tool for the assessment of structural damage.     

NDT measurements for the prediction of 28-day compressive strength

A procedure is proposed for the prediction of the compressive strength of concrete based on the use of NDT measurements. Prior to formwork removal, electrical resistivity can be assessed and based on an electrical resistivity versus compressive strength correlation curve, the strength of concrete can be estimated. This procedure ensures, for example, that the formwork is only removed when the concrete reaches a predefined compressive strength, dispensing with the calculation of concrete maturity. On the other hand, the whole surface of the concrete structure can be systematically measured so as to estimate 28-day compressive strengths and detect areas that could potentially not conform to the specified requirements. In this manner, a realistic overview of the in situ compressive strength of the whole structure can be obtained.The procedure proposed predicts the 28-day strength of concrete based on two models. The first model is based on an empirical equation used for the maturity assessment of concrete. The second model is based on a theoretical equation for the nucleation process of cement hydration. The effect of temperature and different curing conditions (concrete maturity) can be effectively taken into account by the conversion of all electrical resistivity measurement to the same referential. The models are used to estimate 28-day compressive strength based on the 7-day electrical resistivity measurements. The results show that the errors in estimation of the 28-day compressive strength are less than 22% and 10% for these models, respectively. If 28-day electrical resistivity measurements are used then the error in estimation is lower, circa 9% and 5% for these models, respectively.     

Fiber optic sensors in concrete: the future?

Fiber optic sensing systems have been successfully developed for many engineering applications. The objective of this review paper is to assess the potential of fiber optic sensors for the monitoring of concrete structures. In this paper, some current applications of fiber optic sensors in concrete structures are first reviewed to demonstrate their applicability in conventional monitoring applications. The advantages of optical sensors over electrical gauges and transducers are also discussed. Then, we will focus on two novel fiber optic sensors for the monitoring of cracking and delamination in concrete structures without requiring a priori knowledge of the damage locations. Through these two examples, it is demonstrated that the proper design of optic sensors can provide useful sensing capabilities unprecedented with conventional sensors. With further research focusing on the development of novel sensing concepts and the reduction of sensor cost, the widespread use of optical sensors in concrete structures can become a reality in the future.     

Non-destructive evaluation of cracks in massive concrete using normal dc resistivity logging

Discontinuities are one of the most harmful damage to the durability of concrete structures. Currents approaches are limited to assessments of surface damages, even if non-destructive methods appear to be effective for the detection and the location of cracks. That is why, these methods might be unsuitable for investigation of massive concrete body as dams and locks. Present works aim at the presentation of new results with electrical resistivity to study damages within concrete structures. In this article, the electrical resistivity focused on the study of cracks and discontinuities (concrete joints, interfaces…) in massive concrete structures by measurements done in preexisting boreholes. The used array is the normal dc resistivity logging. The study presents numerical and experimental results. First, modeling allows correcting experimental data. Then, development shows the sensitivity relatively to the discontinuity characteristics (aperture and the resistivity contrast between the discontinuity and the concrete). The tests on a real structure are carried out to define the methodology for on-site measurement. Results support the modeling.     

Damage analysis and cracking model of reinforced concrete structures with rebar corrosion

The damage of concrete cover in reinforced concrete structures induced by reinforcing steel corrosion is investigated in this study. The damage process of the concrete cover can be divided into two distinct stages: the non-cracking stage and the partial cracking stage. An analytical model based on damage mechanics and elastic mechanics is developed to predict the concrete cracking due to steel corrosion. Based on this model, the expansive pressure and the radial loss of steel bar are discussed. Parametric studies are carried out to examine the effects of the correlative factors on the expansive pressure and the steel loss.     

Evolution of the health of concrete structures by electrically conductive GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) composites

The function and performance of self-diagnostic composites embedded in concrete blocks and piles were investigated by bending tests and electrical resistance measurement. Carbon powder (CP) and carbon fiber (CF) were introduced into glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites to provide electrical conductivity. The CPGFRP composite displays generally good performance in various bending tests of concrete block and piles compared to the CFGFRP composite. The electrical resistance of the CPGFRP composite increases remarkably at small strains in response to microcrack formation at about 200 μm strain, and can be used to detect smaller deformations before crack formation. The CPGFRP composite shows continuous change in resistance up to a large strain level just before the final fracture for concrete structures reinforced by steel bars. It is concluded that self-diagnostic composites can be used to predict damage and fracture in concrete blocks and piles.     

A comparative study of two non-destructive testing methods to assess near-surface mechanical damage in concrete structures

Concrete specimens displaying surface-breaking cracks are tested using two non-destructive testing techniques: the measurement of electrical resistivity and the transmission of ultrasonic surface waves. The capacity of each method to detect, localize and characterize the induced crack pattern—i.e. its width and depth—is investigated. The specimens are made of concrete with three different mixes. A major crack is induced in the middle of the specimen using a three point bending setup. As the bending strength is increased, three different loading levels are obtained. Both methods were able to correctly localize the main crack and follow its evolution. However, due to the complex crack pattern, the crack depth could not be estimated. Nevertheless, the ultrasonic technique was able to detect a change of state of the material before cracks became visible. As the crack intensity increases, variations of ultrasonic parameters in the apparently undamaged area surrounding the main crack were observed, thus highlighting the sensitivity of ultrasonic waves to distributed damage. The obtained results have also thrown bases for further research to couple resistivity and ultrasonic non-destructive methods.     

Modelling of reinforcement corrosion – geometrical effects on macrocell corrosion

Reinforcement corrosion is still the most frequent reason for damage of concrete structures. It can be caused by carbonation or the ingress of chlorides. In cases of localized contaminations with chlorides, macrocells with very high corrosion rates can be established. Thereby the resulting macrocell current is dependent on many different boundary conditions like driving voltage, concrete resistivity and the geometrical arrangement of anode and cathode. In order to investigate macrocell corrosion, the herein presented research work was carried out by laboratory experiments and additionally by numerical analyses. First the numerical simulations were calibrated by laboratory measurements and thereafter, a numerical parameter study was carried out to increase the available database and identify the impact of changes in single parameters. As the focus is on geometrical effects, all laboratory specimens and numerical models were designed to represent practical conditions with diverse geometrical arrangements, e.g., slabs or beams with localized depassivations. In addition, parameters like concrete resistivity, driving voltage and cathode to anode surface area ratios have been varied. Thereafter, all results were used to derive cell factors for a simple macrocell current estimation. The present status of the project will be presented and discussed.     

Transfer of Wire Arc-Sprayed Metal Coatings onto Plastic Parts

By means of In-Mold-Metal-Spraying (IMMS), metal coatings deposited by means of arc spraying process (ASP) can be transferred onto plastic parts during injection molding, thus realizing an efficient production of metallized plastic parts. Parts produced by means of IMMS can be used in electrical applications. In the current study, the electrical resistivity of coatings applied with different feedstock materials was determined. As a starting point, pressurized air is used as atomizing gas for ASP. In contrast to Zn coatings, Cu coatings applied with pressurized air exhibit a significantly higher electrical resistivity in comparison with massive material. One possible reason is the more pronounced oxidation of Cu particles during ASP. Therefore, N₂ and a mixture of N₂ and H₂ were used as atomizing gas. As a result, the electrical resistivity of coatings applied by means of IMMS could be significantly reduced. Furthermore, standoff distance, current and pressure of the atomizing gas were varied to investigate the influence of these process parameters on the electrical resistivity of Zn coatings using a full factorial experiment design with center point. It can be observed that the electrical resistivity of the Zn coatings increases with decreasing current and increasing standoff distance and pressure.     

Critical chloride content for reinforced concrete and its relationship to concrete resistivity

The critical chloride content for initiation of reinforcement corrosion is an essential element in service life design and modelling of concrete structures. The critical content is laden with questions regarding its definition, experimental assessment and practical aspects. It should be addressed by a statistical approach. The paper discusses such issues, presents experimental evidence and considers its relationship to the electrical resistivity of concrete. A low concrete resistivity can be theoretically argued to relate to a low critical chloride content. However, only part of the experimental data supports this. The resolution of available data does not allow distinction with regard to the critical content between cement types.     

Theoretical considerations on the supposed linear relationship between concrete resistivity and corrosion rate of steel reinforcement

Traditionally, the assessment of service life of steel reinforced concrete structures has been focused on the prediction of the time required to achieve a transition from passive to active corrosion rather than to accurately estimate the subsequent corrosion rates. However, the propagation period, i.e. the time during which the reinforcing steel is actively corroding, may add significantly to the service life. Consequently, ignoring the propagation period may prove to be a conservative approach. On the other hand the prediction of the corrosion rate may result in a very complex task in view of the electrochemical nature of corrosion and the numerous parameters involved. In order to account for the various influences an essentially empirical model has been introduced in which the electrolytic resistivity of the concrete environment serves as the major parameter. This model will be discussed for carbonation‐induced corrosion based on the commonly accepted theory of aqueous corrosion. An alternative model for microcell corrosion is proposed which is based on the commonly accepted view that anodic and cathodic sites are microscopic and their locations change randomly with time. In line with this view electrolytic resistivity can be incorporated and thus may play a significant role in the kinetics of the corrosion process. For a wide range of corrosion current densities the relationship between corrosion current density, log(i_corr), and concrete resistance, log(R_con), can then be approximated by an almost ideal linear relationship. Assuming a fixed geometrical arrangement of anodic and cathodic sites on the steel surface, this linear relationship is also valid for concrete resistivity, ρ_con. However, from the theoretical treatment of the electrochemical processes underlying reinforcement corrosion it becomes evident that a linear relationship between corrosion current density and concrete resistivity does not necessarily imply that concrete resistance is dominating the overall corrosion cell resistance. In most cases a significant portion of the driving voltage of the corrosion cell will be consumed by the transfer of electrical charge involved in cathodic reactions, i.e. cathodic activation control will dominate.     

Processing of transient signals from damage in CFRP composite materials monitored with embedded intensity-modulated fiber optic sensors

In this research study, intensity-modulated fiber optic sensors, whose working principle is based on the microbending concept, are used to monitor the damage in C/epoxy laminates during tensile loading. The use of advanced signal processing techniques based on time–frequency analysis is explained in order to get information on the damage developing in the composite. The signal Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) has been computed and several robust noise reduction algorithms have been applied. Principally, Wiener adaptive filtering, improved spectral subtraction filtering, minimum-phase FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filtering and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)-based filtering have been used. An energy and frequency-based detection criterion is introduced to detect transient signals that can be correlated with the Modal Acoustic Emission (MAE) results and thus damage in the composite material. Hints are that time–frequency analysis and Hankel Total Least Square (HTLS) method can also be used for damage characterisation (delamination, matrix cracking and fiber breaking).     

Crack nucleation during mechanical fatigue in thin metal films on flexible substrates

The evolution of damage due to mechanical fatigue in thin metal films on flexible substrates was investigated by in situ electrical resistance measurements. A tensile fatigue load was applied to the metal films by subjecting a single edge of the curved samples to repeated linear motion. The change in the resistance of the metal films was monitored in situ. Upon the nucleation of a fatigue-induced crack, the electrical resistance of the metal film began to increase. The resistance subsequently continued to increase with crack propagation. Therefore, in situ electrical resistance measurements can be used to identify the fatigue-induced crack nucleation cycle. The number of cycles required for crack nucleation decreased with the increase in the fatigue-stressed area of the samples. This behavior is attributed to an increase in the crack nucleation probability with increasing sample size. The amount of strain applied also modified the number of cycles required for crack nucleation according to the Coffin–Manson relationship. The increase in the electrical resistivity with respect to the number of fatigue cycles can be accurately predicted when the fatigue cycle is normalized by the nucleation cycle. This indicates that the fatigue lifetime is determined by crack nucleation and not by crack propagation.     

氧化铱薄膜的制备及其导电机理研究

采用脉冲激光沉积技术在Si(100)衬底上制备了高导电的IrO2薄膜,重点研究了退火前后其电学性能和微观结构的变化规律。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、原子力显微镜(AFM)、光电子能谱(XPS)和四探针法对退火前后IrO2薄膜的结构和电性能进行了表征,并利用霍尔效应研究了IrO2薄膜的导电机理。结果表明:IrO2薄膜在空气中退火后,导电性能得到提高,其中在750℃退火的电阻率达到最小值37μΩ.cm。在25～500℃范围内,IrO2薄膜的高温电阻率随着温度的升高呈线性关系逐渐增大,呈现出类似金属的导电特征。在250～400℃沉积的IrO2薄膜载流子的类型为p型;沉积温度较高(500℃)或在更高温度退火处理后,IrO2薄膜载流子的类型为n型,其导电机理以电子导电为主。     

Modellversuche zur Spannungskorrosion hochfester Spannstähle in nicht karbonatisiertem Beton

Model experiments on stress corrosion cracking of high strength steels in prestressed non-carbonated concrete The author deals with the mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking of stressing steels in alcaline media (pH 12.6) containing ions which promote stress corrosion cracking. The tests have revealed that this ion effect increases as the stability of their adsorptive bonding to iron atoms is increased. Sulfides can give rise to stress corrosion rupture in the anodic range when the concrete electrolyte becomes saturated by CaS. In the presence of chlorides stress corrosion cracking must be taken into account when chloride concentrations exceed 350 mg/l. Consequently, adequate protection is feasible by limiting to values not exceeding 300 mg/l the chloride content of the water used for concrete preparation. In the case of nitrates there is no danger of stress corrosion cracking. However, at nitrate concentrations exceeding 0.1 M/l the passivation layer is destroyed and then uniform corrosion sets in, so that subsequent rupture because of reduced load bearing cross sections may occur.     

Mechanical and electrical properties of NbMoTaW refractory high-entropy alloy thin films

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) have opened a new chapter in the development of structural materials for use at high temperatures owing to their outstanding mechanical properties and thermal stability. In this study, we developed a NbMoTaW RHEA thin film via direct current magnetron sputtering from a single target that was synthesized by sintering a mixture of multiple elemental powders. The as-deposited thin film exhibited a single nanocrystalline solid-solution phase with body-centered cubic structure. Moreover, the film had a high hardness of 12 GPa and electrical resistivity of 168 μΩ·cm due to severe lattice distortion and the presence of nanoscale grains. Hence, RHEA films can be used as a hard coating for protective layers and as electrical resistors in nanofabricated devices owing to their favorable combination of hardness and electrical resistivity.     

Radar survey of concrete elements: Effect of concrete properties on propagation velocity and time zero

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is widely used to detect and locate steel reinforcement in concrete. However, there are many factors which need to be considered, if accurate depth measurements are to be made. Knowledge of the reference time zero and the propagation velocity of radar waves is essential. This paper presents experimental results on the effect of the physical properties of concrete on the time zero and the propagation velocity of both direct and reflected waves radiated by a ground-coupled antenna. Laboratory experiments were conducted on reinforced concrete slabs and involved various porosities, water contents and depths of steel reinforcing bars. The results of this research demonstrate clearly that the direct wave, which is radiated laterally, propagates at the same velocity as the reflected waves. The implication of such a result is that the direct wave time position is not constant and is affected by the concrete porosity and water content. Therefore, in cases where the direct wave is used as the time reference, this paper proposes to improve delay measurements by applying a delay correction corresponding to the travel time of the direct wave and taking account of the transmitter–receiver offset and of the propagation velocity of radar waves in concrete.     

Effect of stress corrosion cracking on stress-strain response of steel wires used in prestressed concrete beams

This paper presents an experimental study of the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) process on 8-mm-diameter wires which are used industrially in precast concrete prestressed by pre-tension. The service life of steel wires under accelerated SCC and the reduction of their mechanical performance are studied. A dynamic analysis to detect the damage to corroded wire due to SCC before brittle failure and the influence of internal defects on the service life of stress corroded wire are also presented. The study shows that stress corrosion cracking is characterized by an evolution to SCC from pitting corrosion attacks that result in the development of both micro-cracking and micro-voids in the steel bulk. The stress level does not influence the composition of corrosion products. It is a major factor of SCC development, leading to a considerable reduction in the ultimate strain and thus to brittle failure of the corroded wires. Local defects on the steel surface increase the SCC effect due to stress corrosion concentration. A reduction in the elastic modulus and the elastic limit, which may reach 25% and 15%, respectively, can be expected due to steel micro-cracking. No damage detection through mechanical analysis seems possible before the brittle failure occurs as the corrosion is very localized and so does not globally reduce the tension in the wires.     

Influence of conductivity on cathodic protection of reinforced alkali-activated slag mortar using the finite element method

Cathodic protection (CP) is considered to be the only rehabilitation method for chloride-induced rebar corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. The protection current distribution depends on several parameters, such as the geometry and number of rebars and the concrete resistivity. In order to investigate the influence of concrete resistivity on the possibilities and limitations of rebar protection, this paper presents a numerical approach based on the finite element method (FEM) in conjunction with laboratory results to determine its impact on the CP of alkali-activated slag mortar. An ordinary Portland cement was also tested for comparative purposes.     

放电加工用金属结合剂碳化硅工具的研究

本文利用热压烧结工艺制备了含有20vol％～50vol％SiC的放电加工用金属结合剂工具电极。采用非均相沉淀包裹法制得Cu包SiC复合粉体。并对试样的气孔率、电阻率、抗弯强度进行了研究,结果表明,随着SiC含量的增加,试样气孔率和电阻率提高,而抗弯强度下降;在20vol％-50vol％SiC含量范围内,采用直接混合法和包裹法制备的试样具有大致相同的气孔率、电阻率,但包裹法的强度却大大提高。用X—ray衍射、扫描电镜（SEM）、能谱分析（EDAX）等测试手段对试样进行了成分和微观形貌分析。研究结果表明,包裹法制得的Cu结合SiC试样,SiC分散更均匀,并通过形成Cu2O—SiO2共熔物（玻璃相）来提高SiC和Cu的界面结合强度。