Ultrasonic Wave Velocity Research Articles

Studying of microstructure, interface transition zone and ultrasonic wave velocity of high strength concrete by different aggregates

Studying of microstructure, interface transition zone and ultrasonic wave velocity of high strength concrete by different aggregates

Ultrasonic Evaluation of Porosity in Out-of-Autoclave Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Polymer Composite Material

Ultrasonic longitudinal wave propagation is studied in out-of-autoclave (OoA) carbon fiber–reinforced polymer composite material with varying levels of porosity contents. A combination of cure pressures and a solvent is used to produce specimens with void contents in the range of 0% to 22%. Ultrasonic measurements are made in through-transmission mode, and the data is processed to study various aspects of wave interaction with porosity in OoA specimens. The specimens with a wide range of void contents have enabled the study of broader trends of ultrasonic center frequency, wave velocity, and attenuation with respect to porosity. Results show ultrasonic center frequency and wave velocity are decreased linearly as the void content increases. The relationship of ultrasonic wave attenuation can be approximated by a logarithmic relationship when considering the full range of void content studied. Strength measurements of specimens with varying void contents are made using the flatwise tensile (FWT) test. It is observed that the strength rapidly decreases with increasing porosity. Correlations made between FWT strength, ultrasonic wave velocity, and attenuation are best described by logarithmic relationships. The data shows a potential for inferring strength knockdowns due to the presence of porosity based on ultrasonic measurements.

Carbonate strength classification based on depositional textures and fossil content of the Lower Eocene Drunka Formation, Assiut Area, central Egypt

The present study reports petrographic and physico-mechanical analyses conducted on the lower Drunka Formation in the Assiut Area of Central Egypt. The study investigated the percentage of carbonate content and percentage of allochems “Ach” and their impact on the petrophysical features using correlation and multivariate regression analyses. This study analyzes the petrophysical characterization of Drunka Formation rocks and the effect of fossil content on them. The carbonate rock samples derived from the lower Drunka Formation were studied to evaluate the compressive strength , dry and saturated unit weight, porosity, and acoustic wave velocities. The petrographic examination of the rock samples was conducted to understand the facies characteristics, size and percentage of grains, matrix type and extent of diagenesis . Various microfacies associations were also detected within the examined samples, such as lime-mudstone, echinoidal bioclastic wackestones, nummulitic/miliolid wackestones, bioclastic peiodal packstone, echinoidal packstone and nummulitic grainstone . Petrophysical analyses displayed a wide range of porosity and dry bulk density values from 1.3 to 2.75% and 2.31–2.48 g/cm 3 , respectively. The wet bulk density and grain densities are between 2.33˗2.50 and 2.35˗ 2.57 g/cm 3 , respectively. The dry ultrasonic wave velocity “V p” was observed between 2926 and 5549 m/s, whereas the saturated ultrasonic wave velocity “V p “was estimated between 3067 and 5875 m/s. The Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of the tested samples was 22 ≤ UCS ≤ 82 MPa while the slake durability index was recorded as 94.37 ≤ SDI ≤ 98.7%. The Brazilian test indices characterized the studied rock samples as highly porous rocks and showed the values of 1.47 ≤ Brazilian ≤ 5.13 MPa. Finally, for all tested facies, the Böhme test data have a minimum, maximum, and an average of 12.98, 25.95, and 19.04 cm 3 /50 cm 2, respectively. The study's findings showed that, except for the mineral grain scale, the physico-mechanical properties are highly dependent on the petrographic characteristics. The study also revealed that the Ach% and the rock's carbonate content significantly affect the rock's petrophysical and mechanical properties under investigation. The mechanical properties such as UCS, tensile and point load test. increase with increasing carbonate content and decreasing with increasing Ach% of the rock. This paper presents an extensive dataset of physical parameters of a carbonate formation in Egypt; many empirical relationships are presented for predicting mechanical properties. This provides site-specific predictive value; the relationships can be used for all carbonate rocks worldwide with broader international significance. • Classification of strength from texture is proposed based on fossil and carbonate content. • This study analyzes the petrophysical characterization of Drunka Formation rocks and the effect of fossil content on them. • This paper introduces a new strength classification of carbonate rocks based on allochems and carbonate content. • The depositional texture of carbonate rocks has a significant impact on variations of physico-mechanical properties of rocks. • Diagenesis has a remarkable effect on rock strength.

Comparative study of destructive, nondestructive, and numerical procedures for the determination of moisture dependent shear moduli in Scots pine wood

Abstract In this study, moisture dependent shear moduli in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood were determined by a 45° off-axis (longitudinal, radial, and tangential) compression test and ultrasonic transverse wave propagation. Finite element modeling was performed to ascertain how the results agree with the numerical method. Ultrasonic transverse wave velocities on the LR, LT, and RT planes were decreased from 1347, 1323, and 589 m × s-1 to 1286, 1269, and 561 m × s-1 when relative humidity increased from 45 % to 85 % at a constant temperature of 20 ± 1 °C, respectively. The dynamic and static shear modulus on the LR, LT, and RT planes were decreased from 988, 953, and 189, and 966, 914, and 182 MPa to 927, 903, and 176, and 845, 784, and 154 MPa when relative humidity increased from 45 % to 85 % at a constant temperature of 20 ± 1 °C, respectively. Therefore, both velocity and modulus values at all principal axes and planes were decreased with an increase in moisture. Maximum (15.2 %) and minimum (2.3 %) differences between dynamic and the static shear modulus were observed for GLT at 85 % and GLR at 45 % relative humidity, respectively. Coefficients of determinations between the dynamic and static shear moduli were ranged from 0.68 (GLR at 65 % RH) to 0.97 (GLR at 85 % RH). Finite element analysis, only for 65 % RH values, was performed using Solid 45 element, and, according to results, load-deformation curves created by linear orthotropic material properties, are well-matched with the static curves.

Assessment of Polymer Concrete Sample Geometry Effect on Ultrasonic Wave Velocity and Spectral Characteristics.

In this paper an analysis of the influence of polymer concrete sample shape and dimensions on ultrasonic wave propagation is carried out. Compositions of tested fly ash polymer concretes were determined using a material optimization approach. The tests were carried out on the samples of three shapes: cubes, beams, and plates. The ultrasonic testing was done by a direct method (transmission method) using a digital ultrasonic flow detector and piezoelectric transducers of 100 kHz central frequency. Propagation of the ultrasonic wave was characterized by pulse velocity. Frequency spectra and time-frequency spectrograms obtained using Fourier transform and Fourier-based synchrosqueezing transform were also presented. The correlation analysis showed that neither the path length nor the lateral dimension to the direction of wave propagation are not statistically significant for the UPV variability. However, a general trend of decrease in the UPV with increasing the path length was noticed. The analysis of the signal in time-frequency domain seemed to be useful in the analysis of particulate composites properties, especially when UPV changes are not clear enough, since it revealed greater differences in relation to changes in sample geometry than frequency spectra analysis.

Effect of Fiber on Residual Strength and High Temperature Burst Performance of Ultra High Performance Concrete

In this paper, the effects of fiber on the residual strength and high temperature burst performance of ultra-high performance concrete are studied. This paper analyzes the performance change law of concrete after high temperature from three aspects: mass loss, ultrasonic wave velocity and compressive strength. The results show that with the increase of heating temperature, the mass loss increases and the ultrasonic wave velocity decreases. The compressive strength of concrete increases gradually before 300 ℃ and decreases gradually after 400 ℃. Mixing PVA fiber and steel fiber can not only improve the burst resistance of ultra-high performance concrete at high temperature, but also have high residual strength. This paper discusses the high temperature burst mechanism of ultra-high performance concrete, which is caused by the change of steam pressure and microstructure.

Thermal effect of high temperatures on the physical and mechanical properties of a granite used in UNESCO World Heritage sites in north Portugal

This work discusses the results from a set of physical and mechanical test conducted on 46 cubic samples of a granite from the north of Portugal widely used in local granite-built UNESCO World Heritage sites, heated in a furnace at temperatures ranging from 105 to 700 °C and cooled under different conditions. Then, the obtained results are compared with an extensive database of published case studies, showing that porosity, unit weight, ultrasonic waves velocities, elastic modulus and uniaxial compressive stress variations are mostly related to the induced thermal-stress caused by the anisotropic thermal expansion of the mineral grains. Only mineralogy and specific gravity do not exhibit changes for the studied range of temperatures. For specimens heated to above 500 °C, degradation processes predominate due to alpha-beta phase transition in quartz grains, considerably increasing the linear crack density, length and width and degrading the rock properties. Regarding the influence of the cooling method, thermal effects are amplified when cooling is performed by water immersion because of the inhomogeneous shrinkage and the subsequent tension stress between adjacent particles due to temperature decrease that develop at different pace within the samples. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the increase of damage and the negative effect on the granite properties caused by thermal treatment from 500 °C and by water cooling. For temperatures lower than 500 °C a hardening effect slightly improving elastic modulus and uniaxial compressive strength is observed in slowly and quickly cooled samples. The derived conclusions considerably improve the knowledge about the behaviour against temperature of this type of granite, with the purpose of evaluating the integrity level of granite-built UNESCO cultural heritage sites in northern Portugal.

Methodology for assessing the uncertainty of measurements of mechanical stresses by the ultrasonic method with the help of an optical-acoustic separate-combined transducer

The work is devoted to the ultrasonic method of controlling mechanical stresses using ultrasonic head waves. The factors that contribute to the result of measurements of mechanical stresses include: the propagation velocity of the head ultrasonic wave, the temperature of the environment and the object of control, the coefficients of acoustoelastic and thermoacoustic coupling, parameters of the optical-acoustic transducer. The contribution of each of these factors to the results of measurements of mechanical stresses is assessed. A technique for assessing the uncertainty of measurements of mechanical stresses by the ultrasonic method using head waves has been developed.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Coal Particle Size on the Mechanics, Pore Structure, and Permeability of Coal-like Materials for Low-Rank Coalbed Methane Reservoir Simulation

Coal-like materials have been widely used to simulate low-rank coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs to develop fracturing stimulation technology since the transportation and preparation of low-rank coal produce easily secondary damages, causing large dispersion of test results. However, the coal particle sizes have a significant effect on the performance of coal-like materials among many factors. Hence, to accurately simulate low-rank CBM reservoirs for promoting the development of reservoir stimulation technologies, cement, gypsum, pulverized coal, and sand were selected as similar materials to make coal-like samples with different coal particle sizes to study the influence law of coal particle size on the mechanics, pore structure, and permeability of samples. The ultrasonic wave velocity, dynamic parameters, uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and uniaxial tensile strength of samples increased with increasing coal particle size in the range of 0–2 mm. However, these parameters suddenly decreased when the coal particle size increased to 2–3 mm. The porosity and permeability of the samples exhibited an opposite trend compared to the above parameters. The fracture occurred in cementing materials, and the crack extension direction was affected by the coal particle sizes. The fracture complexity of the coal-like samples decreased with increasing particle size under uniaxial compressive testing. The failure mode was mainly a tensile failure, supplemented by shear failure. The coal-like materials can well meet the performance requirements of low-rank CBM reservoirs.

Correlation mechanism between the law of ultrasonic propagation in coal samples and the migration of water

In order to reveal the correlation mechanism between the law of ultrasonic propagation and water migration. A simulation method for displaying the entire process of multi-field coupling ultrasonic excitation, propagation, and reception based on CT scanning reconstruction of the coal pore–fracture structure model is proposed. A porous medium water migration-ultrasonic wave propagation calculation model is constructed by introducing the water-injected coal porous medium water migration calculation model into the ultrasonic propagation calculation process. In the simulation analysis, the coal sample matrix and minerals reconstructed by CT scanning are regarded as homogeneous elastic materials, and the contribution of water migration to the elastic parameters is characterized in the form of equivalent parameters. The pore fracture is regarded as a pressure acoustic fluid, and the equivalent parameter method is used to characterize the water–gas distribution in the pore fracture. The electrostatic coupling solid mechanics and solid mechanics coupled pressure acoustics mode are used to simulate the propagation process of the ultrasonic wave excited by the ultrasonic transducer in the water-injected coal sample, thereby revealing the law of ultrasonic wave propagation in the water-injected porous medium. Research results show that the transmission rate of the ultrasonic wave decreases when the ultrasonic wave propagates to the location of the mineral, and the mineral transmits part of the displacement energy of the ultrasonic wave and partly reflects this energy. The first position reached during the ultrasonic propagation is the position where the fractures are slightly obstructed followed by after reflection, superposition, and finally full distribution. The water accelerates the propagation velocity of ultrasonic waves. However, the capability of ultrasonic waves to pass through the fractures slightly contributes to the presence of water inside the fractures and mainly depends on whether the migration of the coal matrix water covers the fracture area.

Development of a mathematical model for propagation of ultrasonic waves in thick-walled cylinders in the presence of a thermal gradient – Case of axial scanning

Investigation of variations in ultrasonic wave velocity and travel path in the presence of thermal gradient is essential for accurate ultrasonic testing of engineering components which are subjected to high temperatures. In this paper, a mathematical model is developed for calculation of the wave velocity and travel path in thick-walled hollow cylinders that are subjected to thermal gradients during axial scanning. The cylinder is assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic, and made from Structural steel. The independent variables are incidence angle, cylinder outer radius, and temperature of the cylinder’s inner surface. The results obtained from the theoretical model indicate that the wave velocity and travel path are highly sensitive to inner-surface temperature of the cylinder. Moreover, at incidence angles much lower than critical angles (especially at low temperatures), the wave velocity is almost independent of the incidence angle and the travel path is very close to a straight line. However, as the incidence angle approaches one of the critical angles, the wave travel path considerably deviates from a straight line. An experimental setup was designed and built in-house for measuring the longitudinal wave velocity in a steel hollow cylinder in the presence of a thermal gradient. The preliminary experimental results were found to be in good agreement with theoretical results.

Ultrasonic and acoustic pulse velocity methods for nondestructive detection of early decay in wood poles

Wood poles are widely used to support overhead distribution and transmission power lines in North America and the world. These poles are vulnerable to internal deterioration due to extreme weather conditions, requiring a large number of poles to be inspected every year. This paper presents a comparative study of four stress wave-based nondestructive testing (NDT) methods commonly used for condition assessment of wood poles. These include the traditional approaches of sounding, sonic pulse velocity, and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests; and a new approach that considers the orthotropic characteristics of wood, uncertainties in the elastic properties, ultrasonic wave velocity and attenuation. Two poles with an internal hole of 4% of the cross-section are evaluated and compared by each method. Ultrasonic measurements of wave velocity and attenuation considering orthotropic characteristics of wood and uncertainties in the elastic properties provide a reliable wave-based NDT method for the detection of early decay in wood poles.

Influence of Cooling Rate on Microstructure Formation of Si–Mo Ductile Iron Castings

The present study highlights the effect of the cooling rate on the microstructure formation of Si–Mo ductile iron. In this study, experiments were carried out for castings with different wall thicknesses (i.e., 3, 5, 13, and 25 mm) to achieve various cooling rates. The simulation of the cooling and solidification was performed through MAGMASOFT to correlate the cooling conditions with the microstructure. The phase diagram of the investigated alloy was calculated using Thermo-Calc, whereas the quantitative metallography analyses using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy were performed to describe the graphite nodules and metallic matrix morphologies. The present study provides insights into the effect of the cooling rate on the graphite nodule count, nodularity, and volumetric fractions of graphite and ferrite as well as the average ferritic grain size of thin-walled and reference Si–Mo ductile iron castings. The study shows that the cooling rates of castings vary within a wide range (27 °C–1.5 °C/s) when considering wall thicknesses of 3 to 25 mm. The results also suggest that the occurrence of pearlite and carbides are related to segregations during solidification rather than to cooling rates at the eutectoid temperature. Finally, the present study shows that the longitudinal ultrasonic wave velocity is in linear dependence with the number of graphite nodules of EN-GJS-SiMo45-6 ductile iron.

Corrosion Performance of Nano-TiO2-Modified Concrete under a Dry-Wet Sulfate Environment.

This study compared the effects of the sulfate dry–wet cycle on the properties of ordinary concrete and nano-TiO2-modified concrete, including the mass loss rate, ultrasonic wave velocity, compressive strength, and XRD characteristics. In addition, a series of compression simulations carried out using the PFC2D software are also presented for comparison. The results show the following: (1) with an increase in dry–wet cycles, the damage to the concrete gradually increased, and adding nano-TiO2 into ordinary concrete can improve the material’s sulfate resistance; (2) after 50 sulfate dry–wet cycles, the mass loss rate of ordinary concrete was –3.744%, while that of nano-TiO2-modified concrete was −1.363%; (3) the compressive strength of ordinary concrete was reduced from 41.53 to 25.12 MPa (a reduction of 39.51%), but the compressive strength of nano-TiO2-modified concrete was reduced from 49.91 to 32.12 MPa (a reduction of 35.64%); (4) after a sulfate dry–wet cycle, the nano-TiO2-modified concrete surface produced white crystalline products, considered to be ettringite based on the XRD analysis; (5) when considering the peak stress and strain of the concrete samples, the numerical results agreed well with the test results, indicating the reliability of the method.

Study on mechanical properties and air-void structure characteristics of hybrid fiber fly ash concrete under sulfate attack

Sulfate attack is one of the common durability problems of concrete. The concrete structure in saline soil is particularly susceptible to sulfate attack. The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of fly ash on the mechanical properties and pore structure of fiber reinforced concrete under sulfate attack. The sulfate resistance of different content of fly ash (0%, 10%, 20%) at different sulfate attack ages (0 d, 30 d, 60 d, 90 d, 120 d, 150 d) was presented. By analyzing the variation of mass loss rate, ultrasonic wave velocity, relative compressive strength and relative splitting tensile strength, the mechanical properties of concrete under sulfate attack were studied. In addition, the air-void structure test was carried out to explore the pore structure characteristics of concrete. The test results suggested that the contribution of fly ash could improve the sulfate resistance of concrete. At the same sulfate attack age, compared with other contents, the hybrid fiber fly ash concrete with 10% fly ash could strong against sulfate attack. At the later stage of sulfate attack, the corrosion resistance of concrete weakened, the mass loss rate, wave velocity, relative compressive strength and relative splitting tensile strength were reduced, while the pore structure parameters showed that fly ash could fill large pores for reducing corrosion damage. Adding 10% fly ash refined pores and enhanced the strength of concrete. The generation of pores is main factor for the deterioration of concrete structure. The fractal dimension well expressed the changes of pores in concrete. Based on fractal dimension and fly ash content, the damage model was established, which could predict the damage deterioration of hybrid fiber fly ash concrete under sulfate attack.

Influence of residual stress on the free vibrations of an elastic solid; application to resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS)

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) is a standard technique for experimentally measuring the elastic constants of anisotropic elastic materials. Traditionally, the influence of internal or residual stresses on the measurement of elastic constants is not taken into consideration. However, it is well-known that residual stress can impart a small variation in the phase velocity of ultrasonic bulk waves, which is known as the acoustoelastic effect. Thus, it is plausible that residual stress will influence the resonances of samples measured during RUS. In this presentation, the elastodynamic theory for describing free vibrations is reformulated by using a stress-dependent constitutive relationship. The model culminates in an eigenvalue problem with a stiffness matrix being dependent on the spatially varying residual stress field within the domain of the sample. The model is evaluated by considering a realistic residual stress distribution. Results show the degree at which frequencies of resonance depend on the residual stress. While accounting for residual stress is expected to improve the estimates of elastic constants, there is also potential to use RUS as a tool to assess and characterize the residual stress present in samples.

Petrophysical characteristics of the Meso-Cenozoic sediments of the Southeastern subsidence of the Greater Caucasus in connection with their oil and gas potential

In order to assess the prospects for oil and gas potential, the reservoir properties of Mezozoy-Kaynazoic sediments, formed in various geological conditions of the structures of Yalama, Khudat and Siazan monocline, have been studied. The results of the analysis are summarized in tables reflecting the physical and reservoir properties of various types of rocks. On the basis of petrophysical analysis for reservoirs of various lithological types, regularities have been established in changes in density, carbonate content, porosity and permeability of rocks, as well as in the propagation velocity of ultrasonic waves. It was found that changes in reservoir properties of rocks over the area are mainly associated with lithogenesis conditions, with heterogeneity of the lithological composition of sedimentary complexes, with the depth of occurrence of rocks, as well as with the peculiarity of the development of local uplifts. When predicting oil and gas content in deep-seated strata of the territory under consideration, along with exploration and geophysical methods, it is also recommended to use the results of changes in the filtration-volume characteristics of rocks, as well as the nature of the change in the propagation velocity of seismic waves with depth. Keywords: lithological facies; density; porosity; permeability; carbonate content; seismic P-wave velocity.

Physico-mechanical characterization of schists in Tazzeka complex [Taza Province, Eastern Morocco

This paper presents the first results of a physicomechanical reconnaissance campaign on the schist of the Tazekka primary massif in northeast Morocco. The main objective of this work is to assimilate the mechanical behavior of those schists, propose characteristic correlations via more accessible tests and assess the technical and economic opportunities for the exploitation of this deposit. For this purpose, a total of 29 sites were selected according to a multi-criteria study. Thus, 203 sampled specimens were subjected to several characterization trials, namely the Los Angeles test, Micro Deval test, Uniaxial compression test, Fragmentability test, Degradability test and Ultrasonic wave velocity test. On the first hand, the results highlight the potential of these rocks as road aggregates according to European standards specifically for low traffic roads constituting 70% of the local network. On the second hand, The large amount of collected data allowed the proposal of representative correlations between the different mechanical tests relating to the compression and shearing ultrasonic waves velocities. Finally, this experimental study constitutes a first orientation work in favor of state services to update their technical approaches, which generally prohibit the reuse of the evolving rocks.

Velocity and attenuation of ultrasonic wave in Al–Al2O3 nanocomposite and their correlation to microstructural evolution during synthesizing procedure

Non-destructive pulse-echo ultrasonic testing was conducted to measure ultrasonic parameters, i.e. longitudinal velocity (Vl), shear velocity (Vs) and attenuation coefficient (α) in Al–Al2O3 nanocomposites. Elastic constants were also determined using the relationship between Vl and Vs. The aim was to reveal the correlation between ultrasonic parameters and the microstructural features of Al–Al2O3 nanocomposites. The effect of addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the Vl and Vs velocities is mainly attributed to variation in the elastic modulus of Al–Al2O3 nanocomposites. Both Vl and Vs velocities and Young's modulus (E) were found to vary approximately in linear fashion with the increase of Al2O3 content. A considerable effect of milling process on Vl and Vs velocities was revealed, where they increase by increasing the milling time. The increment of Vl and Vs is owing to refinement of Al particles, homogenous dispersion of Al2O3 and particularly reducing porosity by proceeding milling time. In addition, increasing of Al2O3 content, better dispersion uniformity of Al2O3 and refinement of Al particles contribute to increase α values. Elastic constants were found to vary in the same manner as ultrasonic velocities. Interestingly, the improvement in E values by increasing Al2O3 content and milling time is attained, while the ductility did not change significantly.

FEA-Based Ultrasonic Focusing Method in Anisotropic Media for Phased Array Systems

Traditional ultrasonic imaging methods have a low accuracy in the localization of defects in austenitic welds because the anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the welds cause distortion of the ultrasonic wave propagation paths in anisotropic media. The distribution of the grain orientation in the welds influences the ultrasonic wave velocity and ultrasonic wave propagation paths. To overcome this issue, a finite element analysis (FEA)-based ultrasonic imaging methodology for austenitic welds is proposed in this study. The proposed ultrasonic imaging method uses a wave propagation database to synthetically focus the inter-element signal recorded with a phased array system using a delay-and-sum strategy. The wave propagation database was constructed using FEA considering the grain orientation distribution and the anisotropic elastic constants in the welds. The grain orientation was extracted from a macrograph obtained from a dissimilar metal weld specimen, after which the elastic constants were optimized using FEA with grain orientation information. FEA was performed to calculate a full matrix of time-domain signals for all combinations of the transmitting and receiving elements in the phased array system. The proposed approach was assessed for an FEA-based simulated model embedded in a defect. The simulation results proved that the newly proposed ultrasonic imaging method can be used for defect localization in austenitic welds.