Monitoring early hydration of reinforced concrete structures using structural parameters identified by piezo sensors via electromechanical impedance technique

Abstract Concrete is the most widely used material in civil engineering construction. Its life begins when the hydration process is activated after mixing the cement granulates with water. In this paper, a non-dimensional hydration parameter, obtained from piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) patches bonded to rebars embedded inside concrete, is employed to monitor the early age hydration of concrete. The non-dimensional hydration parameter is derived from the equivalent stiffness determined from the piezo-impedance transducers using the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique. The focus of the study is to monitor the hydration process of cementitious materials commencing from the early hours and continue till 28 days using single non-dimensional parameter. The experimental results show that the proposed piezo-based non-dimensional hydration parameter is very effective in monitoring the early age hydration, as it has been derived from the refined structural impedance parameters, obtained by eliminating the PZT contribution, and using both the real and imaginary components of the admittance signature.

[1]  Doobyong Bae,et al.  Ultrasonic in-situ monitoring of setting process of high-performance concrete , 2004 .

[2]  Chee Kiong Soh,et al.  Effect of varying axial load under fixed boundary condition on admittance signatures of electromechanical impedance technique , 2012 .

[3]  John Barrett,et al.  Development of an embedded wireless sensing system for the monitoring of concrete , 2012 .

[4]  Yaowen Yang,et al.  Practical issues related to the application of the electromechanical impedance technique in the structural health monitoring of civil structures: I. Experiment , 2008 .

[5]  Suresh Bhalla,et al.  Structural Health Monitoring by Piezo-Impedance Transducers. I: Modeling , 2004 .

[6]  Craig A. Rogers,et al.  An Impedance-Based System Modeling Approach for Induced Strain Actuator-Driven Structures , 1996 .

[7]  Rudy Tawie,et al.  Piezoelectric-based non-destructive monitoring of hydration of reinforced concrete as an indicator of bond development at the steel–concrete interface , 2010 .

[8]  Eleftherios Kampianakis,et al.  Nondestructive Wireless Monitoring of Early-Age Concrete Strength Gain Using an Innovative Electromechanical Impedance Sensing System , 2013 .

[9]  Colin M. Sayers,et al.  Propagation of ultrasound through hydrating cement pastes at early times , 1993 .

[10]  Suresh Bhalla,et al.  Calibration of piezo-impedance transducers for strength prediction and damage assessment of concrete , 2005 .

[11]  S. Bhalla,et al.  Piezo-impedance transducers for residual fatigue life assessment of bolted steel joints , 2012 .

[12]  Suresh Bhalla,et al.  Structural impedance based damage diagnosis by piezo‐transducers , 2003 .

[13]  C. Yun,et al.  Piezoelectric sensor based nondestructive active monitoring of strength gain in concrete , 2008 .

[14]  Craig A. Rogers,et al.  Coupled Electro-Mechanical Analysis of Adaptive Material Systems — Determination of the Actuator Power Consumption and System Energy Transfer , 1994 .

[15]  Zongjin Li,et al.  Monitoring of cement hydration using embedded piezoelectric transducers , 2008 .

[16]  Mette Rica Geiker,et al.  Monitoring Portland cement hydration: Comparison of methods , 1990 .

[17]  S. Bhalla,et al.  Diagnosis of carbonation induced corrosion initiation and progression in reinforced concrete structures using piezo-impedance transducers , 2016 .

[18]  A.L.A. Fraaij,et al.  Study on the development of the microstructure in cement-based materials by means of numerical simulation and ultrasonic pulse velocity measurement , 2004 .

[19]  Suresh Bhalla,et al.  Reinforcement corrosion assessment capability of surface bonded and embedded piezo sensors for reinforced concrete structures , 2015 .

[20]  Charles R. Farrar,et al.  Piezoelectric Active Sensor Self-Diagnostics Using Electrical Admittance Measurements , 2006 .

[21]  Gangbing Song,et al.  Very early age concrete hydration characterization monitoring using piezoceramic based smart aggregates , 2013 .

[22]  Chee Kiong Soh,et al.  Non-destructive concrete strength evaluation using smart piezoelectric transducer—a comparative study , 2016 .

[23]  Hongping Zhu,et al.  Embedded 3D electromechanical impedance model for strength monitoring of concrete using a PZT transducer , 2014 .

[24]  Chee Kiong Soh,et al.  A Reusable PZT Transducer for Monitoring Initial Hydration and Structural Health of Concrete , 2010, Sensors.

[25]  Suresh Bhalla,et al.  A mechanical impedance approach for structural identification, health monitoring and non-destructive evaluation using piezo-impedance transducers. , 2004 .

[26]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  Impedance-Based Structural Health Monitoring for Temperature Varying Applications , 1999 .