Characterization of thermally damaged concrete using a nonlinear ultrasonic method

Thermal damage in concrete usually induces contact-type defects, which result in degradation of the concrete's performance. This paper attempts to visualize the thermal damage in a multiscale, and characterizes the thermally damaged concrete using a nonlinear ultrasonic method. An impact-modulation method is used to obtain nonlinearity parameters, as a quantitative measure of contact-type defects, and shows better sensitivity than phase velocity variation as a linear ultrasonic method for thermally damaged concrete. The measured nonlinearity parameter is compared with the permeable pores, which reflect the occurrence of opening and pores in thermally damaged concrete. Degradation of concrete strength due to thermal damage is also assessed via the measurement.