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Annotated Bibliography Entries:

1) Krause, M. et al. (2001). Ultrasonic imaging of concrete members using an array


system. NDT&E International. Vol 34, pp. 403-408.

The concept of the study was to utilize 10 transducers of different frequencies to


make up for the weaknesses of each particular transducer. Having 10 transducers that
are simultaneously used as a transmitter-receiver, it was not difficult to obtain a lot of A-
scans to be used for reconstruction calculations such as synthetic aperture focusing
technique (SAFT). The setup used glycerin as a coupling agent and other instruments
such as a digital oscilloscope and laser interferometer were utilized to improve data
acquisition and analysis of data. The setup was used to measure the concrete cover of
utility pipes and the location of tension ducts in a bridge plate.

The study pointed out important points that would be helpful conceptually to my
research. The proper coupling of the transducers is a must for a good data acquisition
process. Another one would be that it can be expected that the use of 150 kHz would
get a good depth of resolution but the attenuation of the waves must be taken into
account. The use of a digital oscilloscope could suppress high-frequency noise.

2) Schickert, M., Krause, M. and Muller, W. (2003). Ultrasonic imaging of concrete


elements using reconstruction by synthetic aperture focusing technique. Journal of
Materials in Civil Engineering. Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 235-246.

The journal article focused on the concept of synthetic aperture focusing technique.
The authors described SAFT having great potential in concrete imaging that could
address issues in the inhomogeneous nature of concrete. It is also described as an
imaging algorithm that superimposes signals measured at different positions in which
could output a high-resolution image.

The journal article also discussed the factors that affect concrete imaging. The use
of low frequency transducers could substantially reduce the effects of attenuation and
scattering in the concrete specimen but suffers from low resolution imaging. From this,
we could notice that signal processing is really important prior to image reconstruction.

SAFT is a method of image reconstruction calculations and is usually performed


after signal processing of data. This ensures that the data being reconstructed as an
ultrasonic image would only contain information significant to the researcher. In the case
of my study, the significant information would be the voids present within the concrete
sample. As SAFT would provide a high-resolution image using the input data, the image
would not turn out to be useful if the waveforms are not properly processed. MATLAB will
be used to run the SAFT algorithm.

3) Pla-Rucki, G. and Eberhard, M. (1995). Imaging of reinforced concrete: state-of-


the-art review. Journal of Infrastructure Systems. Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 134-141.

The journal article dated in June 1995 discussed the difficulties in further
advancement of nondestructive testing and evaluation of reinforced concrete structures.
While the journal discussed different methodologies, the most relevant topic to my study
will be about acoustical imaging. Ultrasonic being sound waves falls under this category.
It highlighted on the fact that acoustical imaging techniques are safe to use and
relatively inexpensive to other instruments. It discussed how a high resolution image
output would require a narrow beam. The beam it refers to is the ultrasonic pulse
transmitted by the transducer and a narrow beam would be an ultrasonic pulse with
shorter wavelengths. Shorter wavelengths means higher frequencies. The conflict arises
when the inhomogeneous nature of concrete is taken into account. Ultrasonic pulses of
short wavelength would be quickly attenuated inside the concrete specimen.

Additionally, it was discussed that there were limited imaging techniques available
for acoustical imaging. It was mentioned in the article that a good imaging technique
utilized the time of flight of a wave and intensity-mapping. Given that SAFT was not
mentioned means that this technique could be a precursor of the SAFT or its early
stages of development. Immersing the specimen in water was done to establish a good
coupling but nowadays it is not necessary anymore because of the use of a couplant a
water-based material that establishes a good acoustical coupling between to two
surfaces.

4) Zhu, J. and Popovics, J. (2007). Imaging concrete structures using air-coupled


impact-echo. Journal of Engineering Mechanics. Vol. 133 No. 6, pp. 628-640.

In this journal article, the concept of the air-coupled impact-echo methodology is


applied. Impact-echo is a method that utilizes the vibration response of the specimen
after an impact load is applied. While air-coupling means that the receiving instrument is
not directly in contact with the specimen. While pulse-echo method utilizes ultrasonic
waves, impact-echo method utilizes mechanical waves. Both approaches in reinforced
concrete are relatively safe and inexpensive compared to methods such as radiographic
techniques, thermography, and electromagnetic waves. The difficulties in utilizing
mechanical waves lies in the coupling between the specimen and transducers and the
length of time it takes for the preparation of surface contact. By the use of air-coupling,
the surface preparation is eliminated. In addition, air-coupling enables the use of
automated data acquisition through an automatic scanning system.

In my study, the concept of pulse-echo is applied. Additionally, it is not air-coupled.


Pulse-echo method utilizes the change in the waveform of the transmitted pulse as it
propagates in the concrete specimen. It will then be bounced back to the receiving
transducer as soon it hits a material boundary or in this situation a void. As the aim of
the pulse-echo method was to utilize a safe and relatively inexpensive approach on
concrete imaging, it is interesting to apply the concepts of air-coupled impact-echo on-
site testing.

5) Margret, M. et al. (2014). Compton back scatter imaging for mild steel rebar
detection and depth characterization embedded in concrete. Nuclear Instruments
and Methods in Physics Research. Vol. 343, pp. 77-82.

Compton back scatter imaging utilizes radioactive waves to detect inhomogeneity


in reinforced concrete. While a common radiographic method requires two-sided
installation of instrument, Compton back scatter could be performed on one-side only.
Advantages of using radiography would be its accuracy in imaging. Because it deals with
the electron density of the elements inside the concrete specimen to relate to mass
density, it could achieve high detailed imaging. Another advantage would be that it is
does not require contact with the specimen. The concept of data acquisition is fairly
similar to pulse-echo method. A specimen is subjected to a collimated gamma ray beam
while a detector would measure the scattered signal that will be coming the specimen.
The journal stated that the experiment used a large setup to perform the proposed
method and recommends that a more portable instrument be developed for easier use in
situ.

6) Hoegh, K. and Khazanovich L. (2015). Extended synthetic aperture focusing


technique for ultrasonic imaging of concrete. NDT&E International. Vol. 74, pp. 33-
42.

In this journal, SAFT is discussed while introducing an update or improvement on


the said technique. The new technique addresses the effects of limited aperture and the
dependence of reflectivity within each reconstruction on the relative position below the
self-contained device. The limitation was addressed by the generalization of the
reconstruction process using overlapping measurements. This would not restrict the
precise positioning of the transducers during data acquisition. As positioning would be
significant and would affect overall imaging of the concrete specimen, this update or
extension of the algorithm would prove to be useful to reduce the human error factor in
the data acquisition process.

7) ASTM Standard E1316. (2015). Standard terminology for nondestructive


examinations. ASTM International. West Conshohocken, PA, 2003, DOI:
10.1520/E1316-15

The standard is useful in clarifying terms used in nondestructive evaluations. It


tackles terminology from the common terms to the difficult terminologies. This resource
will be often used as a go-to guide while reading other engineering journals.
Nondestructive testing and evaluation is not tackled up to this level of depth in the
academic curriculum of civil engineering undergraduate studies so it will be useful for
future students who would like to research NDE in their undergraduate research.

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