Finite element simulation of two-point elastic wave excitation method for damage detection in concrete structures

Two-point elastic wave excitation method is proposed to detect the damages (crack and deterioration). This method does not require any baseline signal to distinguish the damages. For verifying the proposed method, finite element simulations were carried out. Two models including 2-D plane and 3-D solid models were constructed, and non-reflecting boundary conditions were applied to the 3-D model to simulate a massive concrete structure. It is shown that cracks and deteriorations were successfully detected and their severities were well quantified through the finite element simulations. This baseline- free elastic wave method is useful for damage detection of concrete structures with or without nonreflecting boundaries.