Performance Demonstration of Non-Destructive Testing Methods

The civil engineering community asks for more non-destructive testing, quality control and sustainability of structures can be observed. For an economical use of non-destructive testing methods, technical information and knowledge about the capacity of existing test methods are necessary. Missing that information makes it more difficult to choose the right testing method for the investigation of concrete structures. To ensure a better and efficient application of test methods under local conditions, performance demonstrations of non-destructive testing methods have been accomplished. For this purpose, a special specimen (“LCS”) was concreted at BAM, to carry out performance tests of echo methods. The thickness of the specimen is varying and it contains different kind of faults, such as voids, honeycombs and prestressing tendons of varying quality. While the geometry and condition of the defects is well-known the performance of test methods like radar, ultrasonic, impactecho, thermography etc. can be compared. The research was conducted within the Research group FOR384, sponsored by the German Research Society DFG.