Effects of frequency and grouted length on the behavior of guided ultrasonic waves in rock bolts

Experiments were conducted to study the behavior of guided waves in free and grouted rock bolts. Ultrasonic waves with frequencies from 25 to 100 kHz were used as excitation inputs. Tests were first conducted on free bolts to help understand the behavior of guided waves in non-grouted bolts. The effects of wave frequency and grouted length on the group velocity and attenuation of the guided ultrasonic waves were then evaluated. The test results indicated clear but different trends for the group velocity in the free and the grouted bolts. The attenuation in free bolts was not affected by bolt length and frequency. However, in grouted bolts it increased with frequency and grouted length. It was also found that the two main sources of attenuation are the setup energy loss, which has a fixed quantity for a specific type of test setup, and the dispersive and spreading energy loss which varies with frequency and bolt length.