The assessment of concrete quality by ultrasonic pulse velocity

Abstract

In the present study, the uniformity and potential internal defects of concrete elements in situ were assessed by using Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) testing method according to TCVN 9357:2012. Thirteen cross beams with dimension of 4.8 x 1.5 x 1.5 m3 were selected to measure the pulse velocity. Three cross beams were used to check potential internal defects in concrete and 10 cross beams were used to assess the uniformity of concrete in the elements. The results showed that there is no potential internal defect with size over 100 mm in three tested beams and concrete quality of all tested beams is good with the coefficient of variation (CV) of ultrasonic pulse velocity results of all tested points is lower than 2%.
 Keywords: concrete; homogeneity; internal defects; ultrasonic pulse velocity.