Damage Detection Using Ultrasonic Techniques in Concrete-Filled Steel Tubes (CFSTs) Columns

Concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) are structural elements that, as a consequence of an incorrect elaboration, can exhibit internal defects that cannot be visualized, being usually air voids. In this work, the detection of internal damage in CFST samples elaborated with a percentage of contained air voids in concrete, was carried out by performing a complete ultrasound scan using an immersion tank. The analysis of the ultrasound signals shows the differences presented in the amplitude of the fundamental frequency of the signal, and in the Broadband Ultrasound Attenuation (BUA), in comparison with a sample without defects. The main contribution of this study is the application of the BUA technique in CFST samples for the location of air voids. The results present a linear relationship between BUA averages over the window of the CFSTs and the percentage of air voids contained (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.9873), the higher percentage of air voids, the higher values of BUA. The BUA algorithm could be applied effectively to distinguish areas with defects inside the CFSTs. Similar to the BUA results, the analysis in the frequency domain using the FFT and the STFT was sensitive in the detection of internal damage (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = -0.9799, and r = -0.9672, respectively). The results establish an improvement in the evaluation of CFST elements for the detection of internal defects.