Monitoring crack development in fiber concrete beam by using electrical resistivity imaging

Abstract

Accurate detection of damaged concrete zones plays an important role in selecting the proper remedial technique. This study presents results from an application of the electrical imaging method to monitor the development of cracks in fiber concrete beams. The study showed that resistivity measurements on the concrete specimens were able to detect the increase of concrete resistivity with the curing time that reached about 65 Ωm after 28 days of curing. A similar development trend of concrete compressive strength was also found. Two types of cracks were investigated, i.e., artificial cracks made of plastic sheets inserted in concrete and cracks developed during a four-step loading test. A mini-electric imaging survey with Wenner array was conducted on the tension face of the beams. To deal with the effect of the beam size new procedures to correct resistivity measurements before inversion were proposed and successfully applied in this study. The results indicated that both crack direction and depth could be accurately determined in the inverted resistivity sections. ► The imaging technique is applied to inspect the damage in concrete structures. ► New type of non-penetrating electrode was designed and applied. ► The change in resistivity was correlated with the increase in concrete strength. ► The 3D electric forward modeling can correct the resistivity measurement.