Detection of flaw in steel anchor-concrete composite using high-frequency wave characteristics

Non-monolithic concrete structural connections are commonly used both in new constructions and retrofitted structures where anchors are used for connections. Often, flaws are present in anchor system due to poor workmanship and deterioration; and methods available to check the quality of the composite system afterward are very limited. In case of presence of flaw, load transfer mechanism inside the anchor system is severely disturbed, and the load carrying capacity drops drastically. This raises the question of safety of the entire structural system. The present study proposes a wave propagation technique to assess the integrity of the anchor system. A chemical anchor (embedded in concrete) composite system comprising of three materials viz., steel (anchor), polymer (adhesive) and concrete (base) is considered for carrying out the wave propagation studies. Piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) affixed to the anchor head is used for actuation and the PZTs affixed to the surrounding concrete surface of the concrete-anchor system are used for sensing the propagated wave through the anchor interface to concrete. Experimentally validated finite element model is used to investigate three types of composite chemical anchor systems. Studies on the influence of geometry, material properties of the medium and their distribution, and the flaw types on the wave signals are carried out. Temporal energy of through time domain differentiation is found as a promising technique for identifying the flaws in the multi-layered composite system. The present study shows a unique procedure for monitoring of inaccessible but crucial locations of structures by using wave signals without baseline information.