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Title Applications of Ultrasonic Techniques to In-Situ Investigation of Critical Structures in Rock and Concrete

Authors C Baker and RP Young

Publication Reference Mining and Tunnel Innovation and Opportunity, Proceedings of the 5th North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, Toronto,Canada, 425-432. University of Toronto Press.

Abstract Ultrasonic methods can be used in both passive and active modes of operation to monitor volumes of rock and concrete. These methods are able to provide both qualitative and quantitative measurements of damage and changes in material properties. The techniques have important applications for routine in situ monitoring and characterisation of critical structures in rock and concrete. The potential of this technology is highlighted in this paper with reference to the monitoring of a concrete bulkhead, part of the Tunnel Sealing Experiment (TSX) at the Underground Research Laboratory in Canada. An array of ultrasonic transducers installed within a concrete bulkhead and in the surrounding rock is used to monitor the bulkhead using both passive and active methods during 3 phases. The concrete was poured in September 1998. This paper highlights the ways in which the data have been used to assess the behaviour of the key over a three-year period. This includes measurements during the curing process, identifying the occurrence of cracks, investigating the extent to which these cracks were stabilised through remedial grouting and a study of the long-term behaviour of the bulkhead. Ultrasonic monitoring provides a powerful method of evaluating the behaviour of a volume of material. Increasingly, numerical models are used in conjunction with these field observations to provide a robust interpretation of the results. An example of how a thermal-mechanical model can improve our interpretation of the ultrasonic measurements is described.

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Link http://www.lassondeinstitute.utoronto.ca/young/pubs/l102baap.pdf



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