Non Destructive Testing

 Rebound Hammer
 Half cell Potential Measurements
 Carbonation tests
 Resistivity methods
 UPV tests
 The hammer weighs about 1.8 kg and is suitable for use
both in a laboratory and in the field. The main
components include the outer body, the plunger, the
hammer mass, and the main spring. Other features
include a latching mechanism that locks the hammer
mass to the plunger rod and a sliding rider to measure
the rebound of the hammer mass. The rebound
distance is measured on an arbitrary scale marked
from 10 to 100. The rebound distance is recorded as a
“rebound number” corresponding to the position of
the rider on the scale.
The method of half-cell potential
measurements normally involves measuring
the potential of an embedded reinforcing bar
relative to a reference half-cell placed on the
concrete surface. The half-cell is usually a
copper/copper sulphate or silver/silver chloride
cell but other combinations are used. The
concrete functions as an electrolyte and the risk
of corrosion of the reinforcement in the
immediate region of the test location may be
related empirically to the measured potential
difference. In some circumstances, useful
measurements can be obtained between two
half-cells on the concrete surface.
 Electrical junction device
 Electrical contact solution
 Voltmeter
 Electrical lead wires
 Carbonation of concrete occurs when the carbon dioxide,
in the atmosphere in the presence of moisture, reacts with
hydrated cement minerals to produce carbonates
e.g. calcium carbonate. The carbonation process is also
called de-passivation. Carbonation penetrates below the
exposed surface of concrete extremely slowly. The time
required for carbonation can be estimated knowing the
concrete grade and using the following equation:
t=( d/k)2

 t is the time for carbonation,

 d is the concrete cover,
 k is the permeability.
 Permeability values for different concrete grades

 Concrete Grade Permeability

15 17
20 10
25 6
30 5
35 4
40 3.5
Physical Measurement
If there is a need to physically measure the extent of
carbonation it can be determined easily by spraying a
freshly exposed surface of the concrete with a 1%
phenolphthalein solution. The calcium hydroxide is
coloured pink while the carbonated portion is
uncoloured.
 Phenolphthalein Solution
The 1% phenolphthalein solution is made by dissolving
1gm of phenolthalein in 90 cc of ethanol. The solution
is then made up to 100 cc by adding distilled water
 Estimation of Carbonation
Formula used to estimate the depth of carbonation,
considering the age of the building, the water-to-
cement ratio and a constant, which varies depending
on the surface coating on the concrete.
y= 7.2 ÷(R2(4.6x – 1.76)2) * C2
 y is age of building in years,
 x is water-to-cement ratio,
 C is carbonation depth,
 R is a constant
 The most commonly used is the half cell potential
measurement that determines the risk of corrosion
activity it provides no indication of the rate of
corrosion
 Wenner four probe technique is generally adopted for
resistivity measurement of in situ concrete.
 Depth of the concrete zone affecting the
measurement will be equal to the electrode spacing.
 Guide for the interpretation of the measurements
 Resistivity (ohm cm) Likely Corrosion Rate
 Less than 5,000 Very high
 5,000 – 10,000 High
 10,000 – 20,000 Low / Moderate
 Greater than 20,000 Negligible
 A pulse of longitudinal vibrations is produced by an
electro-acoustical transducer, which is held in contact
with one surface of the concrete under test. When the
pulse generated is transmitted into the concrete from
the transducer using a liquid coupling material such as
grease or cellulose paste
 Longitudinal pulse velocity (in km/s or m/s) is given
by:
 V = T /L

 v is the longitudinal pulse velocity,

 L is the path length,
 T is the time taken by the pulse to traverse that length.
 The equipment consists essentially of an electrical
pulse generator, a pair of transducers, an amplifier and
an electronic timing device for measuring the time
interval between the initiation of a pulse generated at
the transmitting transducer and its arrival at the
receiving transducer
 Chloride Test
 “Internal” Chloride, i.e. chloride added to the concrete
at the time of mixing.
 “External” chloride, i.e. chloride ingressing into the
concrete post-hardening
 The test involves crushing a sample of the concrete to a
fine dust, extracting the chloride with hot dilute nitric
acid and then adding silver nitrate solution to
precipitate any chloride present.
 Low cement content result in weak concrete against
the weather and be liable to frost attack and the effects
of Carbonation
 High cement content leads to increase in heat of
hydration causing thermal cracking and the risk of
shrinkage increases.
 Testing the concrete requires the crushed concrete to
be extracted with dilute acid and dilute alkali solution
and analysed for soluble silica and calcium oxide.
 Sulphate Content
 Exposure of concrete made with Portland cement to
sulphate salts can cause damage due to an expansive
reaction between the cement and the sulphate salt to
form crystals of ettringite which in confined space
causes an expansive reaction.
 Sulphate Testing involves an acid extraction and
precipitation of the sulphate as barium sulphate with
barium chloride solution.
 The resulting barium sulphate is filtered and weighed
to determine sulphate gravimetrically.