(119c) The Application of Nondestructive Measurements to Improve the Characterization of Infrastructure Materials

The main objective of this investigation was to apply nondestructive measurements to improve the characterization of infrastructure materials. The removal of a section of damage area in a concrete pavement is done in preparation for repair. This study investigates what these removal techniques achieved on the remaining concrete using nondestructive techniques. Images of the samples surfaces were taken with the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and a digital camera. Density, pulse velocity, permittivity, conductivity, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of the samples were determined to compare them with others. There are 4 sample sets from different countries of Iraq (Anbar, Baghdad, Basra and Mosul) and another set from Hawaii. They are 86 samples in total from Iraq and 5 from Hawaii. As part of their characterization process, the density and pulse velocity of all the samples were determined. The permittivity and conductivity for the Iraq samples were plotted as a function of frequency. Hawaii samples are available with different shapes (circular, rectangular and cylindrical). The splitting tensile strength and compressive strength were determined for these samples. To organize the data and results for the different data sets, Microsoft Office Excel program was used. The density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, permittivity and conductivity results were analyzed and compared between the samples. The pulse velocity results were used to categorize the concrete conditions based on the criteria established for this purpose.