A new approach for field instrumentation in grouted rock bolt monitoring using guided ultrasonic waves

A rock bolt installed in the field for ground support has only one short exposed end on the rock surface. This condition has posed challenges in field instrumentation. In this paper, a new approach for field monitoring of grouted rock bolts using guided ultrasonic waves is proposed with the receiving transducer on the grout surface near the exposed end of the bolt. The effects of the receiver location are studied with numerical modeling. A location correction factor is introduced to correlate the amplitude ratio along the bolt and that on the grout surface. Experiments are conducted to verify the modeling results. This research indicates that it is practically possible to receive meaningful signals with the receiver on the grout surface and that with the recorded data the attenuation and wave velocity of guided waves in grouted rock bolts can be determined with reasonable accuracy. The proper receiver location is found to be 27 to 32 mm from the bolt center for the test condition.