UNIVERSITY OF GAZIANTEP

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL DEPARTMENT

CE-550
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING AND EVALUATION
IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Report About :

(Resonance Frequency as anon destructive test method

in structural engineering)

Submitted to:

Do.Dr.ESSRA GUNAYISI
Prepared by:

Chalak Ahmed Mohammed

chalak.mohammed@gmail.com

2014 45056

Date : 13.03. 2015

1

Resonant Frequency
Powers originally developed the resonant frequency method in 1938. He
discovered that the resonant frequency of a material can be matched with a
harmonic tone produced by materials when tapped with a hammer (Malhorta &
Carino 1991). Since then, the method has evolved and incorporated the use of
electrical equipment for measurement.

Theory
An important property of any elastic material is its natural frequency of
vibration.
A materials natural frequency of vibration can be related to its density and
dynamic modulus of elasticity. Durability studies of concrete materials have
been performed indirectly using resonant frequency as an indicator of strength
and static modulus of elasticity. These relationships for resonant frequency were
originally derived for homogenous and elastic materials. However, the method
also applies to concrete.

specimens if the specimens are large in relation to their constituent

materials. (Malhorta & Carino 1991).
The study of physics has determined resonant frequencies for many shapes,
including slender rods, cylinders, cubes, prisms and various other regular threedimensional objects. Youngs dynamic modulus of elasticity of a specimen can
be calculated from the fundamental frequency of vibration of a specimen
according to Equation 1 (Malhorta & Carino 1991).

42 L4 N 2 d
E

........1
m4 k 2

Where
E = Youngs dynamic modulus of elasticity d = density of
the material
L = length of the specimen
N = fundamental flexural frequency
k = the radius of gyration about the bending axis m = a constant

Testing
ASTM has created a standard test that covers measurement of the
fundamental transverse, longitudinal and torsional resonant frequencies of
concrete specimens for the purpose of calculating dynamic Youngs Modulus of
elasticity. (C-215-97, 2001) This test method calculates the resonant frequencies
using two types of procedures, the forced resonance method or the impact
resonance method.
The forced resonance method is more commonly used than the impact
resonance method due to the ease of testing and interpretation of results. The
forced vibration

method uses a vibration generator to induce vibration in the test

specimen while the vibration pickup transducer is coupled to the
specimen. The driving frequency is varied until the pickup signal
reaches a peak voltage. The specimens maximum response to the
induced vibration occurs at the resonant frequency. Figure 1. illustrates
the typical setup of a resonant frequency device. The vibration
generator is coupled to the right side of the specimen while the pickup
is coupled to the left.

Figure 1.: Typical forced resonant frequency setup

The impact resonance method is similar to the impact-echo and

impulse response methods. The impact resonance method employs a
small impactor to induce a stress wave into the specimen. However, the
forced resonant frequency method uses a lightweight accelerometer to
measure the output signal. The signal is then processed to isolate the
fundamental frequency of vibration.
The standard test method is limited to the testing of laboratory
specimens (i.e. cylinders or prisms), and at present there is no
standardized method applying the use of resonant frequency to larger
specimens or to specimens of irregular shape.

Limitations
The resonant frequency method has been successfully applied to
the nondestructive testing of laboratory specimens. The test is
somewhat limited by a number of inherent.
problems in the method.
Resonant frequency testing is usually performed on test specimens
to non-destructively calculate cylinder compressive strength. However,
the test actually calculates the dynamic modulus of elasticity.
Extensive laboratory testing
has revealed that cylinder compressive
strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity are not an exact correlation.
Thus, when concrete strength is extrapolated from resonant frequency
testing, two sources of error exist. The first source of error is
experimental error, which can be fairly significant when performing the
resonant frequency test. Limited data are available on the
reproducibility of the dynamic modulus of elasticity based on
resonance tests (Malhorta & Carino 1991, p155).

The second source of error is the assumption that has to be made

when converting dynamic modulus to compressive strength. Since the
correlation between the two properties is not absolute, sources of error
will be present in any modulus to strength conversion. Figure 2.
graphically displays the experimental results obtained relating cylinder
compressive strength with dynamic
modulus of elasticity. The experimental data can be predicted
within 10% assuming the results from a given resonant frequency test
have zero error. In reality, converting dynamic elasticity to
compressive strength would yield an uncertainty greater than 10%.

Figure 2.: Dynamic modulus of elasticity vs. cylinder compressive strength(Malhorta & Carino 1991)

Applications
Resonant frequency can be a useful tool for detecting material changes
regardless of whether an actual dynamic modulus or compressive strength can
be calculated.
Resonant frequency can be used to measure qualitative changes in a
material property if used as a monitoring technique. The existence of
structural damage in an engineering system leads to a modification of the
modal parameters, one of which is resonant frequency.
It is possible to monitor a given complex structural element with shape
parameters that prohibit an accurate calculation of geometric parameters such
as radius of gyration or density. Complex structures are often too large or
have immeasurable properties, such as the exact location of internal steel
members, to extract relatively simple material properties that are easily
calculated in the laboratory setting. However, when used as a quantitative
technique resonant frequency can detect material changes between tests. A
review of methods of damage detection using natural frequencies has shown
that the approach is potentially practical for the routine integrity assessment
of concrete structures (Salawu 1997). Using the natural frequency changes of
a structure may not be useful for identifying the location and assessment of
specific cracks and anomalies within a structure. The technique can detect
changes in a structure or structural element, if an acceptable baseline is
established at the time of construction.

Regards...