Condition assessment of concrete in hydraulic structures by surface wave non-destructive testing

Maintenance and rehabilitation of concrete structures affected by alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) require conducting detailed assessment of the concrete conditions, mainly close to the surface where the damage is more severe. This paper presents in situ investigations by surface wave testing of near-surface AAR damage in two hydraulic structures. The survey was carried out using a non-intrusive multi-sensor method that involves frequency-wavenumber analysis of surface waves. The method allows solving Rayleigh surface wave propagation modes required for the determination of the shear wave velocity in terms of depth. The variation of Young's modulus with concrete depth can be estimated from the obtained shear wave velocity profile. Two different cases of surface wave propagation, typical of concrete structures, are discussed in this paper. The tests were conducted from the concrete surface only and the subsurface quality was mapped up to a depth of 1.50 m. The applications show that the proposed surface wave method is a potential non-destructive evaluation method that can be used to detect and locate near surface damage in concrete structures.