Non destructive evaluation of seven-wire strands using ultrasonic guided waves

Abstract

Seven-wire strands are widely used in civil engineering structures for cable-stayed bridges, prestressed concrete bridges or retaining walls applications. Corrosion and fatigue induced damages are of major concern for these metallic strands. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the theoretical and experimental works on the non destructive evaluation (NDE) of steel members using ultrasonic guided waves generated and detected with piezoelectric or magnetostrictive transducers. Results obtained for different frequency ranges on various configurations will be shown and discussed in order to quantify the performances and limits of guided ultrasonic wave inspection methodologies. © 2011 Lavoisier, Paris.