FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Nagesh R Iyer* & P. Srinivasan**

*Director,
** Sr. Principal Scientist,
CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai 1

Abstract

Forensic analysis of reinforced concrete structures is one of the essential tasks for estimating or
assessing the quality of reinforced/pre-stressed concrete. This includes identification of defects such as
honeycombs, voids, cracks, etc., and, thickness measurement, location of reinforcements, presence of
ducts, etc. The Ground Penetrating Radar(GPR) technique is a very effective method for investigating the
integrity of concrete, thickness measurement, reinforcement identification, presence of ducts, etc., in
concrete structures. The Impact echo technique is used for the estimation of thickness, presence of voids
and cracks. The Ultrasonic Pulse Echo is a one-sided technique which can be used effectively for the
thickness measurement, localization of ducts, and the characteristics of surface cracks and voids. In
order to study these aspects, a unique large scale reinforced concrete specimen is cast at CSIR-SERC,
Chennai, with columns and beams of different sizes, cross section having different percentages of
reinforcement. The defects such as honeycombs, cracks, delamination, presence of conduits, ducts, etc.,
are also incorporated while casting the large scale reinforced cement concrete specimen. This paper
highlights the efficiency of Radar, Impact echo (IE) and Ultrasonic Pulse Echo(UPE) techniques as a
forensic tool for the evaluation of reinforced/pre-stressed concrete structure. The advantages and the
limitations of the test methods are also discussed in this paper.

INTRODUCTION

For the forensic evaluation of reinforced concrete structures, Non Destructive Testing (NDT) in
reinforced concrete structure plays a very important role. This includes identification of defects such as
honeycombs, voids, cracks, etc., and, thickness measurement, location of reinforcements, ducts, etc.
Most of the time, the structural details may not be available for old structures and it becomes necessary
to use NDT techniques for the evaluation and assessment of reinforced/pre-stressed concrete structures.
The Ground Penetrating Radar(GPR) technique is a very effective technique for investigating the integrity
of concrete, thickness measurement, reinforcement identification in concrete structures (Krause et
al.,1995, Maierhofer C. et al., 2003, Hevin G., 1998, Johannes Hugenschmidit, et al., 2006) The Ultrasonic
Pulse Echo (UPE) is a one-sided technique which can be used for the thickness measurement, localization
of reinforcement and ducts, and the characteristics of surface cracks(Krasue et al., 1997, Christoph Kohl,
2006). The Impact-Echo (IE) method is introduced by Sansalone and Carino and is used to detect
thickness, voids, honeycombing etc. of concrete and masonry structures. (Sansalone et al., 1986). The
strength of the method is its ability to measure the thickness of concrete parts with good accuracy with
one side accessibility such as foundation slabs, tunnel lining etc. Use of long wavelength low-frequency
stress waves of impact-echo distinguishes with other traditional ultrasonic methods (Schubert, & F.,
Wiggenhauser, H., 2004). The application of radar, IE and UPE techniques have been demonstrated for
reinforced concrete specimens in identifying the reinforcements, ducts, thicknesses, etc.,(Srinivasan, P.
et al 2010, 2013). The application of advanced NDT techniques such as radar, ultrasonic pulse-echo and
Impact Echo methods in measuring the thickness, identification of reinforcements and ducts, defects in
concrete and other embedments is demonstrated in this paper.

The Test Specimen

1
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

The test specimen is a unique reinforced concrete specimen, designed and constructed at Structural
Engineering Research Centre (SERC), exclusively for the data generation and validation of different NDT
techniques. It consists of two slabs of sizes 4.15m4.15m (bottom slab) and 3.0m 3.0m (top slab with
cantilever projection at one end) with beams and columns. The entire block is supported on four
pedestals at a height of 1.2m to have access for the bottom slab. The top slab is made with two different
thicknesses (150mm and 250mm) and bottom slab with three different thicknesses (150mm, 300mm and
400mm) for validating the thickness measurements using NDT methods. Top slab is provided with
construction joints, different sizes and shapes of honeycombs, PVC conduits, cracks for their
identification and quantification. Bottom slab is provided with bolt holes, PVC inserts and conduits to
locate and quantify the defects. Both the slabs have various reinforcement ratios to locate the position
of the bars, spacing etc. Beams are provided with different diameter of reinforcements with different
spacing of shear reinforcements and different cover thickness. Beams are provided with ducts to study
the grouting problems in prestressing ducts. Columns are provided with different diameter of
reinforcements with different spacing of lateral ties and different cover thicknesses. Different grades of
concrete are used in casting the beams, columns and slabs. Figure 1 shows the completed large scale test
specimen. Figures 2a and 2b show the details of the reinforcement and the defects introduced in the
second floor slab.

Figure 1. Unique Large scale Test Specimen

Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

C3 C4

C2 C1

Figure 2a Reinforcement in the second floor slab

Details of Second Floor Slab-Top Reinforcement

Figure 2b. Details of honeycombs, PVC pipes and steel embedments

Evaluation with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

GPR is an electromagnetic investigation method. It is also known as surface penetrating radar or

electromagnetic reflection method. Radar principle works in Reflection mode where a signal is emitted
through an antenna into the structure under investigation. The transmitting antenna sends a diverging
beam of energy pulses in to the structure and the receiving antenna collects the energy reflected from
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

interfaces between materials of differing dielectric properties. A strong reflection will be received from
the air/concrete interface at the surface whilst other, generally weaker reflections will occur wherever
distinct boundaries occur beneath the surface (Figure 3). Electromagnetic pulses of frequency 500 MHz
to 3000 MHz from radar transmitter are directed into the material. The waves propagate through the
material until a boundary of diffe.ent electrical characteristics is encountered (i.e.,) reflected at interface
of different layer and reinforcement along its travel path. Reflected energy caused by changes in material
properties is recorded and analyzed. The signal recorded is usually referred to as a scan or trace. The
vertical axis gives time axis or calibrated depth and the horizontal axis corresponds to the length in the X-
direction.

Figure 3 Principle of radar surveying

The depth of penetration depends upon several factors such as electrical conductivity of the medium and
dielectric constant. The electro-magnetic energy penetrates deeper in resistive materials (dry sand, ice
and dry concrete) than in conductive materials (wet concrete, salt water and wet soil). The energy is
absorbed by the conductive materials and hence does not penetrate deep. The technique is eminently
suitable to investigate materials with low electrical conductive materials such as concrete, sand, wood
and asphalt. Table 1 indicates the dielectric constant of a few common materials. The dielectric constant
of the material governs the velocity of the energy propagation, being inversely proportional to the
square root of the dielectric constant.

Table 1 Typical material properties and velocity of propagation

Sl.No. Material Dielectric constant

1 Air 1
2 Water 81
3 Granite 58
4 Dry sand 36
5 Wet sand 25 30
6 Dry soil 35
7 Fresh concrete 11
8 Dry concrete 68
9 Asphalt 4

Manual scanning with surface contacting equipment has been used for a much wider range of structural
applications. Recently this technology is used for periodical inspection and maintenance of important
structures (atomic reactor). GPR has been put to a variety of application in the concrete industry, such
as estimation of the thickness elements from one surface; localization of reinforcing bars and metallic
ducts and estimation of the concrete cover depth. The radar technology is used for periodic inspection
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

and maintenance of the reinforced concrete and masonry structures and it is an important means for
the inspection of civil structures. GPR equipment contains three basic units namely antenna, control
unit, recorder and display unit. Figure 4 shows the GPR equipment setup.

Control Unit Antenna- 1.6 GHz

Figure 4 GPR equipment setup

The advantages of using GPR are as follows:

It can rapidly and effectively investigate large areas

Equipment is portable
Immediate continuous graphic display of results is possible
Requires only one accessible surface
No coupling medium is required
Sensitive to materials changes and features of structural interest
No special safety precaution is required

For the radar measurements, the GPR SIR-20 model of GSSI is used with 1.60 GHz antenna. For data
collection the bottom slab was divided into grids of size 50 mm x 50 mm. A portion of 2.0 m x 2.0 m
within the beams was considered for scanning. The data was collected from the top face on the bottom
slab. Figure 5 shows the measurement on the bottom slab. Figures 6a and 6b show the radargram for the
bottom slab before and after migration. The data which was collected in both the directions were
processed using RADAN software and the 3-D animation view was obtained. Figure 7 shows the
reinforcements

Figure. 5 Data collection with radar using 1.6 GHz antenna

Figure. 6a Reinforcements before Figure. 6b Reinforcements after migration

migration
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

present in the bottom slab. The spacing of the reinforcements obtained in the line scan was matching
with the actual. The sloping portion of the bottom slab, i.e., the back wall reflection was obtained and is
shown in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Reinforcements in First Floor slab 3D view

Figure.8 Radargram in sloping portion of C- scan of first floor slab

The top slab is also divided into grids of 50 x 50 mm over an area of 2.0 m x 2.0 m between the beams.
The radar data was collected on the top and bottom side of the slab. The data is processed using RADAN
software. Figure 9 shows the C-scan which gives the reinforcement obtained after processing. The
absence of top reinforcements in the centre portion is comparable to the actual provided. The presence
of steel box and the PVC pipe is shown in Figure 10. The reflection due to the presence of steel plate is
shown in the wiggle mode (Figure 11).

Figure 9. C-scan at 45 mm form top face

Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

Figure 10. C-scan at 70 mm form top face

Figure 11. Radargram with A- scans.

The column C1 of size 300 mm x 450 mm was scanned in the 450 mm direction. Radar data was obtained
over a grid spacing of 50 mm in both the directions. Figure 12 show the reinforcemnts present in the
column.

Figure.12 C- scan for the column

ULTRASONIC PULSE ECHO

The equipment used is the low frequency ultrasonic flaw detector for concrete namely A1220 Monolith.
The unique feature of A1220 Monolith is that it provides testing at one-side access of the testing object,
which makes it possible to test concrete structures such as buildings, bridges, tunnels, etc., in situ.
Another main advantage of the equipment is that no coupling agent and special preparation of the
objects surface is needed to make investigation. Due to the special structure of antenna array, which is
used as transducer with A1220 Monolith, testing on the rough surfaces is possible. A1220 Monolith
consists of electronic unit with a screen and keyboard and, an antenna array. The transmitter and
receiver are housed in the same unit which consists of a 24 element (6x4) matrix antenna array. The
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

antenna array elements construction allows to test without using any contact liquid, i.e. with dry-point-
contact. All of the elements have an independent spring load, which allows to test on uneven surfaces.
Figure 13 shows the ultrasonic pulse echo equipment.

Figure 13 A1220 MONOLITH UPE Equipment

The results of testing are displayed on the liquid-crystal display as A-scans or B-Scans. All the
results of testing (signal forms with parameters) can be saved in non- volatile memory of the device
and transferred to an external PC for further processing, printing and archiving. Besides, the special
software allows reconstructing the B-scan and C-scan images of the internal structure of the tested
object.

The ultrasonic pulse echo is applied on the top and bottom slabs using the commercial available Pulse
echo system, namely the A1220 monolith. Figure 14 shows the data collection using the A1220 monolith
equipment. The data is collected at each point and along a line manually. The A-scan and B-scans are
obtained in the instrument. After collecting, the data is transferred to a computer and analysed using the
post processing software. Figure 16 shows the back wall reflection and the thickness of the slab are
found to be 150 and 250 mm. The presence of the steel plate is shown in Figure 17 as obtained in the C-
scan.

Figure 14. Ultrasonic Pulse Echo test on the bottom side of top slab
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

Thickness- 150 mm Thickness- 250 mm

Figure 15. B- Scans of the top slab

Figure 15. C- scan showing the presence of steel plate

Impact Echo Technique

Impact-Echo (IE) is a method for non-destructive evaluation of concrete and masonry, based on the use
of impact-generated stress (sound) waves that propagate through the structure and are reflected by
internal flaws and external surfaces. It can be used to determine thickness or locate cracks, voids and
other defects in concrete. The P and S waves are reflected by internal interfaces or external boundaries.
The arrival of these reflected waves at the surface where the impact was generated produces
displacements which are measured by a receiving transducer as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16 Principle of the impact echo test

If the receiver is placed close to the impact point, the displacement waveform is dominated by the
displacements caused by P wave arrivals. The displacement waveform can be used to determine the
travel time, t, from the initiation of the pulse to the arrival of the first P wave reflection. If the P wave
speed, Cp, in the test object is known, the distance T from surface to the reflecting interface can be
determined. At the initial development of impact echo, time domain analysis was used to measure the
time from the start of the impact to the arrival of the P wave echo. This method was feasible but the
process was time consuming and required skill to properly identify the time of P wave arrival. A key to
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

the development was the use of frequency analysis instead of time domain analysis of the recorded
waveforms as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17 Schematic diagram illustrating how impact-echo works

The P wave produced by the impact undergoes multiple reflections between the test surface and the
reflecting interface. Each time the P wave arrives at the test surface, it causes a characteristic
displacement. Thus the waveform has a periodic pattern that depends on the round-trip travel distance
of the P wave. If the receiver is close to the impact point, the round trip travel distance is 2T, where T is
the distance between the test surface and reflecting interface. The time interval between successive
arrivals of the multiple reflected P wave is the travel distance divided by the wave speed. The frequency
f, of the P wave arrival is the inverse the time interval and is given by the approximate relationship:
f = Cp / 2T (1)

Where, Cp: P wave speed through the thickness of the plate and T: depth of reflecting interface.

Above equation gives the basic relationship for interpreting the results of impact echo tests. If the test
object is a solid plate, the frequency calculated according to above is called the plate thickness
frequency. In frequency analysis of impact echo results, the objective is to determine the dominant
frequencies in the recorded waveform. This is accomplished by using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
technique to transform the recorded waveform into the frequency domain. The transformation results in
an amplitude spectrum that shows the amplitudes of the various frequencies contained in the waveform.
For plate-like structures, the thickness frequency will usually be the dominant peak in the spectrum. The
value of the peak frequency in the amplitude spectrum can be used to determine the depth of the
reflecting interface by expressing Eq. 2 as

T = Cp / 2 f (2)

In the case where the wave encounters a flaw, a part of that wave reflects back to the surface of the
slab. Here another distinct peak will be observed: one large amplitude peak at a lower frequency,
corresponding to the slab bottom, and another smaller amplitude peak at a higher frequency
corresponding to the flaw.

The impact echo test is conducted on a 2m x 2m area covering the three regions of slab thickness.
Scanning is carried out systematically and an average of two impacts is taken at each grid point. B-scan
images of all grid lines have been captured. Bottom slab data is analysed for the determination of
thickness. The recorded waveform data is transformed into frequency spectra by FFT. Figure 18 shows
the typical frequency spectra of a point in the 200 mm thick regions. The frequency corresponding to the
maximum peak is 10.53 kHz. The thickness of the slab can be obtained by using the Eq. 2. Using this, the
average thickness of the slab of that region is found to be 199.5 mm, which is almost equal to the actual
thickness of the slab. Similarly, Figure 19 shows the typical frequency spectra of a point in the 300 mm
thick portion. For the other two regions, the average thickness of the slab is found to be 297 mm and
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

393.4 mm corresponding to the expected thickness of 300 mm and 400 mm. The difference in estimation
is found to be 0.3 %, 1.0 % and 1.7 %. B-scan image showing different frequencies (thicknesses) along a
typical grid line is presented in Figure 20.

Figure 18 Typical frequency spectra at a Figure 19 Typical frequency spectra at a point

point in 200 mm thick slab portion in 300 mm thick slab portion

Figure 20 B Scan Image along a typical grid line

CONCLUSION

For the forensic evaluation of reinforced or pre-stressed concrete structures, Ground Penetrating Radar,
Impact echo and Ultrasonic pulse echo techniques can be adopted in the field with ease. The applications
of all the three techniques have been demonstrated for the thickness measurement, identification of
reinforcements, steel embedment, and honeycombs. The need for automatic scanning for data collection
versus manual collection of data on a large scale structure for both the radar and also for the pulse echo
is highlighted. The B-scans and C-scans as obtained for the radar measurements give the reinforcement
distribution. The depth slices also provide useful information in identifying the steel embedment and the
PVC conduits. For the radar measurements it is observed that the spacing of the reinforcement affects
the penetration of the waves in to the concrete. The ultrasonic pulse echo technique provides
information on the exact thickness of the concrete member. In addition, the embedments such as steel
Forensic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures Nagesh R Iyer & P Srinivasan

plate or PVC pipe can be identified. The thickness can be determined using IE with 100 % accuracy
provided the P- wave speed is estimated correctly.

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge Mr. S.G.N Murthy, Dr. S. Bhaskar, Dr. B.H. Bharatkumar and Dr. K. Ravisankar,
Scientists of CSIR-SERC and Prof. Herbert Wiggenhauser, BAM, Berlin for the technical support provided
by them and also the supporting staff of ACTEL, CSIR-SERC in the preparation of large scale reinforced
concrete specimen.

REFERENCES

Christoph Kohl, Doreen Streicher,(2006) Results of reconstructed and fused NDT-data measured in the
laboratory and on-site at bridges, Cement & Concrete Composites, 2006, pp.402-413.

Hevin G, Abraham O, Pedersen HA, Campillo M.(1998), Characterization of surface cracks with Rayleigh
waves: a numerical model, Nondestructive testing and evaluation international, 31,1998, pp. 28997.

Johannes Hugenschmidit, Roman Mastrangelo. (2006) GPR inspection of concrete bridges, Cement &
Concrete Composites, 28 , 2006, pp. 384-392.

Krause M, Maierhofer C, Wiggenhauser H. (1995), Thickness measurement of concrete elements using

radar and ultrasonic impulse echo techniques, 6th International conference on structural faults and
repair, Edited by Forde MC, 1997, London, UK, vol. 1, pp. 1724.

Krause M, Barmann R, Friedlinghaus R, Kretzschamar F, Kroggel O, Langenberg K, Maierhofer Ch, Mu

ller W, Neisecke J, Schickert M, Schmitz V, Wiggenhauser H, Wollbold F. (1997), Comparison of pulse
echo methods for testing concrete NDT& E International 4 (special issue), 1997, pp. 195204.

Maierhofer C. (2003) Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Infrastructure with Ground Penetrating

Radar, Journal of Materials In Civil Engineering, ASCE, May-June 2003, PP. 287-297.

Sansalone, M., and Carino, N. J., (1986), Impact-Echo: A method for flaw detection in concrete using
transient stress waves, NBSIR 86-3452, National Bureau of Standards, Sept., 1986, 222 p.

Schubert, F., Wiggenhauser, H., Lausch, R. (2004) On the accuracy of thickness measurements in impact-
echo testing of finite concrete specimensnumerical and experimental result, Ultrasonics, Vol. 42,
Issues 1-9, April 2004, pp.897-901.

Srinivasan, P. Ravisankar, K. Nagesh R. Iyer and Thirugnansambandam, S.,(2010), Forensic Analysis of a

Large Scale RCC Specimen using Advanced NDT Methods, Proceedings of the First Indo-US Forensic
Engineering Workshop, Tiruchirapalli, December , 2010

Srinivasan, P, Ravisankar K, Thirugnanasambandam, S and Nagesh R. Iyer,( 2013), Radar for the
evaluation of concrete structures -influence of reinforcements and ducts, International conference on
rehabilitation and restoration of structures , IIT Madras, Chennai , pp. 517-526, Feb2013