Surface wave dispersion in cement-based media: Inclusion size effect

This paper presents the experimental study of surface wave propagation in cementitious material with different shape and size but same volume content of thin inclusions that simulate distributed damage. The Rayleigh wave velocity changes almost up to 20% depending on the inclusion shape, while the longitudinal velocity, the experimental variance, as well as the coherence of the signals is also affected. It is demonstrated that the material is strongly dispersive and caution should be taken for the interpretation of the wave measurements since the velocity is sensitive not only to the damage content but also to the “crack” size.