Infrastruct was contacted by the Consulting Engineers on a project to carry out non-destructive testing on a new, above ground reinforced concrete tank. The tank was designed to retain sewage as part of the treatment process and the Engineers needed confirmation that there were no hidden defects or anomalies within the walls of the structure.
Random 1200x1200mm test areas were selected on the walls of the structure and the following testing was carried out:
1. GPR surveys on selected sections of the concrete walls to identify the location of embedded reinforcement and scan for evidence of hidden voids within the walls.
2. Check the in-situ concrete integrity using the MIRA pulse echo tomographer to generate cross section images of the concrete walls to examine the concrete for internal voids or other hidden defects within the concrete.
3. Water permeation testing (GWT) to assess the permeability of the finished concrete tank walls (permeation of water under an applied pressure of 100kPa).
4. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) measurements to evaluate the depth of selected cracks.
5. Crack width measurements using a microscope to check the width of selected cracks.
Photographs 1, 2 and 3 below show the test equipment in use on the walls of the tank.
The results of the testing was recorded on-site by our Engineers and a comprehensive report, with interpretation of all the results, was prepared for our Client.
For more information on non-destructive testing of concrete structures, please contact Dr Thomas Callanan in Infrastruct Asset Management Services Limited.
