Abstract
A vast amount of civil infrastructure is constructed using reinforced concrete, which can be susceptible to corrosion, posing significant risks. Corrosion of reinforced concrete has various causes, with chloride ingress known to be a major contributor. Monitoring this chloride ingress would allow for preventative maintenance to be less intrusive at a lower cost. Currently, chloride sensing methods are bulky and expensive, leaving the majority of concrete infrastructures unmonitored. This paper presents the design and fabrication of a miniature, low-cost device that can be embedded into concrete at various locations and depths. The device measures localized concrete resistance, correlating to the chloride ingress in the concrete using equations listed in this paper, and calculated results from two experiments are presented. The device benefits from a four-probe architecture, injecting a fixed frequency AC waveform across its outer electrodes within the cement block. Voltage across the internal electrodes is measured with a microcontroller and converted to a resistance value, communicated serially to an external computer. A final test showcases the ability of the device for three-dimensional mass deployment.
Highlights
This paper focuses on Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, as these methods have shown capability for fast and reliable structural health diagnosis, with several reported approaches utilizing reinforced concrete structure [1,2,3,4,5]
This paper presents an effective, low-cost, miniature, resistance measurement device for the detection of concrete corrosion, utilizing a four-probe sensing technique [29], with a highly stable, efficient, fixed frequency alternating current (AC) waveform for injecting current across the external probes
Using the zero-offset waveform that injects current into a four-probe architecture across the outer
Summary
There exist multiple methods to sense corrosion development in reinforcement concrete. These methods can be categorized into two key groups, destructive and non-destructive. Destructive testing (DT) methods require the concrete sample to be damaged to evaluate its properties. Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods evaluate the properties of the concrete sample without causing damage to the sample. Passive sensors are being used to perform measurements These sensors use radio frequency resonance for power and communication [6,7,8,9]. Most of these sensors utilize an inductive-capacitive tank to improve the sensing mechanism. A downside is that exposure promotes a reaction with time, making the unit unstable over prolonged periods
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