CAREER: Rapid non-destructive assessment of concrete structures using elastic waves

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This proposal offers an approach for rapid and accurate non-destructive evaluation (NDE) to assess the in-place condition of concrete structures. Sensitive and practical NDE techniques are of great value to agencies that govern the infrastructure. However, the time and effort required to perform current NDE tests and to analyze the results limit widespread application. This proposal aims to develop a rapid and robust method to collect elastic wave data from a concrete structure and an approach for imaging structures that characterizes the location, type and magnitude of damaged areas. The proposed approach makes use of several innovations including (a) use of surface-guided waves, (b) sensitive, non-contact wave reception techniques such as air-coupled transducers and laser interferometry, (c) one-sided, point source, point receiver NDE measurements such as surface wave transmission and velocity scans, and (d) an imaging approach that makes use of the developed measurement data. An educational plan is closely integrated with the proposed research. The intent of the educational plan is to design an undergraduate and graduate engineering curriculum at Drexel University that responds to current needs of the infrastructure industry. The plan also includes additional educational outreach to encourage inner-city students to pursue a career in engineering.