Impulse response test for condition assessment of concrete: A review. (30th June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sajid, Sikandar; Chouinard, Luc
• Is Part Of: Construction & building materials. Volume 211(2019)
• Page Start: 317
• Page End: 328
• Publication Date: 2019-06-30
• Subjects: Concrete -- Nondestructive test -- Impulse-response test -- Low-strain integrity test -- Condition assessment; Building materials -- Periodicals; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.174
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-0618

Abstract

Highlights: The published literature on impulse-response test for concrete elements is compiled. Case studies are tabulated showing the capabilities of the test for various applications. Current state-of-the-art of fundamental understanding of the test is presented Current knowledge gaps are identified and future research directions are delineated. Abstract: The impulse-response test is one of the most versatile nondestructive test (NDT) methods for condition assessment of concrete structures. It is an elastic stress-wave propagation based low-strain and low frequency NDT method, which is widely employed in the NDT industry. Nevertheless, it is used mainly as a relative basis test, in which contour plots of the response parameter are used to distinguish between intact and anomalous regions in the test element. This article is the first to compile current published literature on the subject. A summary of the published case studies using impulse-response test is presented, followed by the current state-of-the-art of the fundamental theoretical understanding of the method. Current knowledge gaps are identified and recommendations are proposed to address these issues. The recommendations are aimed to move the impulse-response test from a qualitative NDT method to a quantitative condition assessment tool for concrete structures.