Developing a Nondestructive Method for Revealing Defective Areas in Reinforced Concrete Under Bending Conditions

We present results of studying the spatial variation of parameters of the electrical response to a weak impact under stepwise loading of concrete beams reinforced with steel rods. It is proposed to use the following diagnostic parameters to characterize the presence of a defective area in reinforced beams: the maximum coefficient of correlation between the spectrum of electrical signal after stepwise loading and the original spectrum; the frequency shift for which the maximum correlation coefficient is observed; the coefficient of correlation between the spectrum of signal at the current loading stage and the signal spectrum at the previous stage; and the center of gravity of the spectrum. The proposed method can be used to locate the defective area in reinforced concrete under bending conditions.