NDTtests On Concrete

NDT
(NON
DESTRUCTIVE
TESTING)
Synopsis
• REBOUND HAMMER
• ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY
• RESIPOD
• REBAR LOCATOR
• COVER METER
• HALF CELL POTENTIAL
• IMPACT ECHO TEST
• GROUND PENETRATION RADAR
• ULTRASONIC PULSE TOMOGRAPHY
Limitations of Rebound Hammer
• Depends on smoothness of surface – preparation is
Essential.
•Varies with size, shape and rigidity of specimen,

as well as the age (not suitable for strengths less
than 7 MPa)
•Affected by degree of saturation and surface

moisture, type, size and content of aggregate, type of
cement, and type of mould.
• Carbonation of surface produces erroneous results.

PROCEDURE
• Readings sensitive to local variations
• 9 to 25 readings, 300 mm square
• Surface requirements
THEORY, CALIBRATION AND INTERPRETATION

• Principle: Rebound depends on hardness
• Not directly related to any property of concrete
CALIBRATION
• Manufacturer’s calibration graph not very
useful
Average rebound number Quality
> 40 Very good quality
30 - 40 Good
20 - 30 Fair
< 20 Poor and/or delaminated
0 Very poor and/or delaminated
Pull Out Test
Probe embedded in concrete while casting is

pulled out at later ages to determine the
strength
•Very popular technique – number of
common tests: ‘LOK’, ‘CAPO’
•Does not suffer from the limitations
of rebound and probe tests
Pull Out Tests
General – pull out test

CAPO Test
LOK Test
Failure patterns
Pull Off Test
Test is very good for bonded

overlays or repair materials
Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Technique (UPV )
(IS 13311 part 2)
Principle is that the speed of travel of

the sound wave depends on the
density and stiffness (or modulus of
elasticity) of the material.
From a measurement of
taken the time by
dynamic modulusthe of elasticity
pulse of to the
material can be determined.
travel,
the
v = L/t = f(E/ρ)
• The Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test is conducted for
assessing the quality.
• The instrument consists of a transmitter & a receiver
(two probes).
• The distance between the two probes (path length)
can
be physically measured.
• The time of travel for the wave from the transmitter to the
receiver when kept opposite to each other is recorded in
the ultrasonic instrument
v = L/t = f(E/ρ)
Lρ
t, E,
Transmitter Receiver
Object
FACTORS INFLUENCING PULSE VELOCITY
MEASUREMENT
1) Moisture content
2) Temperature of concrete
3) Path length
4) Effect of reinforcing bars
5) Shape and size of specimen
6) Stress history
Limitations of UPV
• Gives only an ‘average’ picture

•Assessment of internal defects is
not accurate
• Velocity on its own may not be
enough…
Resistivity guidelines-Resipod
• > 12000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion unlikely
• 5000 – 12000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion probable
• < 5000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion certain
• Other versions also in use…

Issues with measurement
• Probe spacing has to be sufficient so that representative
“average” resistivity is measured.
•Depth and width of member should be at least 4

times probe spacing.
• Thin surface layer of high resistivity leads to high

error.
• Presence of steel needs to be taken into account.
• Resistivity depends on degree of saturation

‐ Testing while concrete is dry gives high resistivity
‐ Testing while saturated gives conservative value
Core Testing
Why test cores?

• Issues of low strength in standard specimens
• Estimate in‐place strength
• Correlate with other NDT methods
• Obtain samples for petrographic evaluation
• Estimate general internal condition of concrete
•Get information on carbonation depth,
density, UPV etc.
How many cores?
Depends on objective
•If meant for issues of low strength results
from standard specimens, then at least 3 from
the area in question
•If meant for in‐place strength, as many as

possible! – Rebound / UPV tests may be done
to identify areas with potentially large
differences in strength
Codal recommendations
IS 1199:1959 addresses core removal
IS 516:1959 (reaffirmed 2008) addresses core testing
ASTM C823
•Standard practice for examination and sampling of
hardened concrete in constructions
• Talks about sampling from various sections of the structure
Core dimensions
•Min diameter 94 mm, or 2 x max aggregate

size, whichever is larger
•However, 69 mm is allowed and has to be used

sometimes because of reinforcement congestion
• L/d of 2 preferred (1.9 – 2.1 OK)
• Correction factor needed for L/d < 1.75
• For cube strength test, L/d of core can be taken

equal to 1 (after capping, if L/d < 1, core cannot be
used –
IS 516)
End preparation
•Ends should be cut properly to ensure
smooth Surface
•Capping recommended in the absence of grinding

– capped surface should not depart from the plane
by more than 0.05 mm
• Grinding, if available, is ideal..
•Materials for capping: neat cement, high

strength cementitious mortar, sulphur mortar
• Unbonded caps as per ASTM C1231 are also

allowed (in ASTM)
Moisture conditioning
•IS 516: After capping, place specimens in water at 24

– 30 deg.C for 48 hours before testing
•ASTM C42: After drilling, wipe off surface water, and

place in watertight containers; test after 5 days (procedure
was similar to IS in the old days – later changed as it was
not good for the modern concretes with low w/c)
Testing of cores
• As per IS516 (or as per ASTM C39)
•Length of specimen includes capping

thickness….correction factors suggested for L/d
other than 2
•Cores with embedded reinforcement should

not be used as much as possible…however,
sometimes it is inevitable – no real correction can
be done for that! Location of reinforcements in
core should be carefully noted…
Why correction factor?
As L/d increases, strength decreases

Cube strength (L/d = 1) ~ 1.25 x Cylinder strength (L/d=2)
Manu Santhanam
Acceptance criteria
• Average strength not less than 85% fck
• Lowest value not less than 75% fck
• Clause 17.4.3 of IS 456
•IS allows equivalent cube strength

calculation as 1.25 times core strength (after
applying correction factor)

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NDT

•Varies with size, shape and rigidity of specimen,

•Affected by degree of saturation and surface

• Carbonation of surface produces erroneous results.

THEORY, CALIBRATION AND INTERPRETATION

Probe embedded in concrete while casting is

General – pull out test

Test is very good for bonded

Principle is that the speed of travel of

• Gives only an ‘average’ picture

• > 12000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion unlikely

• 5000 – 12000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion probable

• < 5000 ohm‐cm: Corrosion certain

• Other versions also in use…

•Depth and width of member should be at least 4

• Thin surface layer of high resistivity leads to high

• Presence of steel needs to be taken into account.

• Resistivity depends on degree of saturation

Why test cores?

•If meant for in‐place strength, as many as

•Min diameter 94 mm, or 2 x max aggregate

•However, 69 mm is allowed and has to be used

• L/d of 2 preferred (1.9 – 2.1 OK)

• Correction factor needed for L/d < 1.75

• For cube strength test, L/d of core can be taken

•Capping recommended in the absence of grinding

• Grinding, if available, is ideal..

•Materials for capping: neat cement, high

• Unbonded caps as per ASTM C1231 are also

•IS 516: After capping, place specimens in water at 24

•ASTM C42: After drilling, wipe off surface water, and

• As per IS516 (or as per ASTM C39)

•Length of specimen includes capping

•Cores with embedded reinforcement should

As L/d increases, strength decreases

• Lowest value not less than 75% fck

• Clause 17.4.3 of IS 456

•IS allows equivalent cube strength

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