Simulation of ultrasonic concrete inspection using finite element methods and representative volume elements

The ultrasonic inspection of concrete structures is significantly influenced by their heterogeneous nature. It induces significant attenuation of coherent waves, as well as structural noise. Simulation can help to better understand these phenomena and optimize inspection procedures. Finite element methods can provide accurate simulations of ultrasonic propagation in complex heterogeneous materials. Such simulations are however highly resource intensives, particularly in large-scale 3D cases. An alternative approach involves defining an effective homogeneous attenuative medium, and using analytical methods for fast computations of the coherent waves. Defects can be included and structural noise can be added to the computed signals. The propagation characteristic of the waves in the effective medium, along with their tendency to generate structural noise, can be analyzed and quantified through finite element simulations of small Representative Volume Elements (RVEs). This communication details our recent developments in numerical approaches, aimed at providing new simulation tools for the ultrasonic inspection of concrete within the CIVA platform.