SBIR-STTR Award

During covert operations, the U.S. Army may be required to breach a concrete structure using a controlled explosion. When choosing the most effective charge size and placement, it is vital to perform a rapid field assessment of the material and structural properties of the target structure. However, recent advances in manufacturing high strength concrete materials (such as Ductal®) may increase the uncertainty of these assessment methods. Therefore, the Army is seeking a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) system which can connect with currently fielded Army systems and identify the following required information: compressive strength of in-situ concrete from 3 ksi to 30 ksi within +/- 3 ksi; wall thickness up to 6 ft with an accuracy of 1 ft; presence and location of metal substructure (such as steel reinforcement) within 1ft from the wall surface; and presence of fiber reinforcement. This project will utilize the commercially available NLA RECON? (manufactured by NLA Diagnostics, LLC), which is rugged, portable, and a field-ready NDE system. The NLA RECON? will utilize ultrasonic pulse velocity, impact-echo, pulse-echo, and ultrasonic attenuation to meet or exceed the Army?s requirements. Tests will be performed on a selected set of concrete samples, built by North Carolina State University.

Keywords:
Non-Destructive Evaluation, Concrete Characterization, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity, Impact-Echo, Pulse-Echo, Ultrasonic Attenuation, Concrete Strength, Concrete Thickness

During covert operations, the U.S. Army may be required to breach a concrete structure using a controlled explosion. When choosing the most effective charge size and placement, it is vital to perform a rapid field assessment of the material and structural properties of the target structure. However, high strength concrete materials (such as Ultra-High Performance Concrete), including steel fiber reinforcement, may decrease the reliability of existing assessment methods. Therefore, the Army is seeking a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) system which can connect with currently fielded Army systems to identify the following required information: concrete compressive strength ranging from 3 ksi to 30 ksi within ±3 ksi; wall thickness up to 6 ft within ±1 ft; presence and location of metal substructure (such as steel reinforcement) within 1 ft from the surface; and presence of fiber reinforcement. This project will utilize the commercially available NLA RECON™ (manufactured by NLA Diagnostics, LLC), which is rugged, portable, and field-ready NDE system. The NLA RECON™ will utilize ultrasonic pulse velocity, impact-echo, and pulse-echo to meet or exceed the Army’s requirements. Validation and demonstration tests will be performed under laboratory conditions at North Carolina State University, and in the field on in-service concrete structures.

Keywords:
Non-destructive evaluation, concrete characterization, ultrasonic pulse velocity, impact-echo, pulse-echo, ultrasonic attenuation, concrete strength, concrete thickness