Wave propagation and scattering in reinforced concrete beams

Steel reinforcement bars (rebars) are vital to the strength of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, but can become damaged due to corrosion. Such damage is generally invisible and non-destructive testing methods are needed to assess their integrity. Guided wave methods are popular because they are capable of detecting damage using sensors placed remotely from the damage site, which is often unknown. This paper predicts free wave propagation in RC beams from which the concept of a guided wave based damage detection method emerges. The wave solutions are obtained using the wave finite element framework where a short section of a beam's cross section is modeled in conventional finite element (FE) and periodic boundary conditions are subsequently applied. Reinforcement elements are used in the FE model of the cross section as a neat and efficient means of coupling the concrete to the rebars and imposing prestress. The results show that prestress, important for static behavior, has a negligible effect on wave dispersion. A RC beam with a damaged section is modeled by coupling three waveguides, the center waveguide being identical to the outer ones except for a thickness loss in one rebar. Only small differences in cut-on frequencies are observed between the damaged and undamaged sections. However, these small differences give rise to strong reflection of some waves at frequencies close to cut-on. Below cut-on, most incident power is transmitted but experiences wave mode conversion, whereas above cut-on most power is transmitted to the same wave type. These observations form the basis for ongoing work to develop a damage detection technique premised on wave reflection near cut-on.