Inspection of Steel Tendons in Concrete Using Guided Waves

Abstract

The use of ultrasonic guided waves to inspect concrete reinforcing tendons is complicated by energy leakage into the embedding material. Previous work has shown that high frequency, low‐leakage guided waves can be used to minimise the leakage, but the maximum inspection range has not yet been determined. This paper presents the results of experiments designed to evaluate the effect of important factors such as leakage and defect geometry, enabling conclusions on the maximum inspection range to be reached.