Evaluation of strength characteristics of mortar and concrete during curing using EMI and surface wave propagation techniques
Concrete is a non-homogenous material with complex microstructure, consisting of water, cement, aggregates and other suitable materials. During concreting of concrete structures, heat will be released due to the hydration process between cement and water. At this stage, curing process is crucial...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/16861/1/Evaluation%20of%20strength.pdf |
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| Summary: | Concrete is a non-homogenous material with complex microstructure, consisting of
water, cement, aggregates and other suitable materials. During concreting of
concrete structures, heat will be released due to the hydration process between
cement and water. At this stage, curing process is crucial and it needs to be
monitored so that the concrete will be able to achieve the desired strength and
becomes durable. Due to the complexity of concrete microstructure, the evaluations
for concrete curing and strength monitoring are difficult and have moved at a slower
pace. However, in recent years the advancements of piezoelectric materials such as
Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) have attracted interest among researchers to develop
new non-destructive evaluation methods to investigate the performance of concrete.
The key advantage of using PZT is that it can be placed anywhere even in remote
and inaccessible locations as both actuator and sensor to monitor concrete
structures. The electromechanical impedance (EMI) and surface wave propagation
techniques employing PZT transducer have been developed by researchers as a nondestructive
approaches for evaluating concrete. The main objective of this thesis is
to evaluate the strength characteristics of mortar and concrete during curing using
the EMI and surface wave propagation techniques. In order to achieve this, the
research begins with conducting parametric study on free vibration of PZT transducer
in the application of EMI technique. The work continues with experimental
investigation to study the feasibility of using the EMI and surface wave propagation
techniques employing PZT transducer for evaluation of strength characteristics of
mortar and concrete during curing. The PZT transducers were attached to the mortar
and concrete specimens through surface bonding and embedded methods. The
results showed that by using the EMI and surface wave propagation techniques
employing the PZT transducer, the duration of concrete setting and curing can be
determined. Also, a good correlation between the concrete dynamic modulus of
elasticity with compressive strength has been achieved by using the surface wave
propagation method. For these reasons, the EMI and surface wave propagation
techniques can be a useful tools to ensure the safety and quality of concrete
structures during construction and service. |
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