On the study of surface wave propagation in concrete structures using a piezoelectricactuator/sensor system

Abstract

Concrete structures have been used widely in civil infrastructural systems. Due to thecomplex nature of the microstructure, nondestructive testing (NDT) of concrete inherentlyimposes many challenges, which can cause severe limitations on the resolution and thesensitivity of the signals observed. In this study, a numerical simulation based on the finiteelement (FE) model is first performed to investigate surface wave generation and receptionusing piezoelectric actuators/sensors, especially in relatively higher frequency cases. Theresults provide a basic understanding of some features of the microstructure effects on thesurface wave propagation. Experimental testing is then conducted to validate the numericalsimulation. The group velocity dispersion curves of the surface waves, which arevery useful for future damage detection in concrete materials, are obtained fromboth numerical and experimental results. The good agreement shows the greatpotential and feasibility of using piezoelectric actuators/sensors to generate andreceive surface waves for quantitative damage detection in concrete structures.