Fly ash polymer concrete quality assessment using ultrasonic method

Polymer concretes appear as useful materials for manufacturing precast elements as well as for repair and protection of building structures. In both cases, there is a need for quality control and diagnosis during service life as well. Therefore the development of nondestructive assessment methods is an important issue. Ultrasonic methods are among the most common nondestructive techniques used in material science and industry.
The aim of the paper was to analyze the usability of ultrasonic methods for assessing properties of polymer concretes modified with fly ashes. In the paper the effects of substitution of microfiller with fly ash in polyester and vinyl ester concretes on ultrasonic wave propagation are presented. Compositions of tested fly ash polymer concretes were determined using material optimization approach. Propagation of ultrasonic wave was characterized using wave velocity and a frequency spectrum characteristic. As a result, regression functions for ultrasonic evaluation of fly ash polymer concrete are proposed. Those functions can be used to develop reference curves for calibration procedures for this kind of composites.