Durability Engineers utilizes ground penetrating radar (GPR) for assessments of as-built conditions. Capable of identifying presence and location of reinforcing steel, verifying member thickness, and identifying inclusions and voids below the concrete surface, GRP provides rapid, real-time information requiring minimal calibration and delays. GPR may be used in the field to:

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• Locate Reinforcing Steel, Conduits and Tendons 

• Estimate As-Built Conditions such as Member Dimensions and Cover Depth  

• Locate Voids and Discontinuities

Impulse Response (IR) is a particularly effective technique for investigating plate-like elements containing construction defects, voids and poor consolidation. Structures with access restrictions or limitations on invasive drilling required for calibration with other forms of NDT benefit from this testing technique. IR is performed in general accordance with ASTM C1740, "Standard Practice for Evaluating the Condition of Concrete Plates Using the Impulse-Response Method" and may be used to establish concrete properties such as:​

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• Relative Strength             • Cold Joints

• Delaminations                  • Voids​

• Underlayment Support                  

In instances where concrete elements have concerns for poor consolidation or large voids, Durability Engineers can instrument the sections through ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) to identify problem areas throughout the member in question. UPV is performed in general accordance with ASTM C597, "Standard Test Method for Pulse Velocity Through Concrete," and is often used for identifying various issues, including but not limited to:

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• Relative Strength                      • Concrete Consolidation                        

• Cracks and Crack Depths

 

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The phased array tomography technique utilizes a grid of transducers, where each signal response is interpreted through the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). Durability Engineers employs UST for investigations on large concrete structures to investigate various issues, including but not limited to:

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• In-Situ Strength                        • Delamination                         

• Dying & Plastic Shrinkage       • Blistering

• Scaling                                      • Mixture Compliance

• Poor Consolidation                  • Honeycombing/Small Voids                      

Durability Engineers complements its extensive NDE suite through its capabilities in the investigation and assessment of structural reinforcing steel via half-cell, resistivity and corrosion rate equipment in order to determine the current and potential corrosion of existing reinforcing steel.

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• Chemically Unstable Minerals                  • Volumetrically Unstable Materials

• Freeze-Thaw Susceptibility                       • Materials Susceptible to Deicers

• Staining & Surface Color Change            • Aesthetic Changes due to Weathering

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