Amplitude and phase measurements of continuous diffuse fields for structural health monitoring of concrete structures

Measuring amplitude and phase of continuous ultrasonic waves with a lock-in amplifier is shown to give similarly sensitive indicators of concrete damage as pulsed coda wave analysis, but maintains its sensitivity at considerably much lower signal levels. Continuous and pulsed measurements were performed on a concrete slab subjected to cyclically increased damage level. In the unloaded phase each measurement type was performed at varying transmit signal levels. The result indicates the possibility of using a larger distance between transducers in high frequency health monitoring systems of concrete structures, where attenuation of propagating waves is strong.