The quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of cement-based materials is a critical area of research that is leading to advances in the health monitoring and condition assessment of the civil infrastructure. Ultrasonic NDE has been implemented with varying levels of success to characterize cement-based materials with complex microstructure and damage. A major issue with the application of ultrasonic techniques to characterize cement-based materials is their inherent inhomogeneity at multiple length scales. Ultrasonic waves propagating in these materials exhibit a high degree of attenuation losses, making quantitative interpretations difficult. Physically, these attenuation losses are a combination of internal friction in a viscoelastic material (ultrasonic absorption), and the scattering losses due to the material heterogeneity. The objective of this research is to use ultrasonic attenuation to characterize the microstructure of heterogeneous cement-based materials. The study considers a real, but simplified cement-based material, cement paste - a common bonding matrix of all cement-based composites. Cement paste consists of Portland cement and water but does not include aggregates. First, this research presents the findings of a theoretical study that uses a set of existing acoustics models to quantify the scattered ultrasonic wavefield from a known distribution of entrained air voids. These attenuation results are then coupled with experimental measurements to develop an inversion procedure that directly predicts the size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in a cement paste specimen. Optical studies verify the accuracy of the proposed inversion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using attenuation to measure the average size, volume fraction of entrained air voids and the existence of additional larger entrapped air voids in hardened cement paste. Finally, coherent and diffuse ultrasonic waves are used to develop a direct relationship between attenuation and water to cement (w/c) ratio. A phenomenological model based on the existence of fluid-filled capillary voids is used to help explain the experimentally observed behavior. Overall this research shows the potential of using ultrasonic attenuation to quantitatively characterize cement paste. The absorption and scattering losses can be related to the individual microstructural elements of hardened cement paste. By taking a fundamental, mechanics-based approach, it should be possible to add additional components such as scattering by aggregates or even microcracks in a systematic fashion and eventually build a realistic model for ultrasonic wave propagation study for concrete.

A criação de programas federais voltados para o desenvolvimento da infraestrutura brasileira no final da década passada resultou no aquecimento do setor de construção civil. Nesse contexto, o sistema de paredes de concreto moldadas no local se destacou devido à sua alta produtividade e repetitividade. Os requisitos e procedimentos para o dimensionamento de paredes de concreto moldadas no local são contemplados na NBR 16055:2012. Dentre as abordagens consideradas nessa norma, ressalta-se a recomendação do uso de concreto autoadensável. No entanto, alguns pontos de interesse não são contemplados na regulamentação vigente como, por exemplo, a incorporação de ar na composição do concreto, bem como os limites de teores de ar incorporado. Assim, a presente pesquisa busca avaliar a influência da incorporação de ar no comportamento de concretos autoadensáveis destinados à execução de paredes de concreto moldadas no local. Para isso, foram produzidos dois traços de concreto autoadensável de classes de resistência C25 e C40 e, a partir de cada um deles, produzidos outros dois traços modificados com aditivo incorporador de ar, variando o teor de ar incorporado, em um total de seis misturas cujas propriedades foram avaliadas tanto no estado fresco quanto no estado endurecido. Além disso, foram moldadas paredes de concreto a fim de analisar a estrutura interna do material com aparelho de ultrassom e o acabamento superficial do elemento por meio de análise de imagens. No caso da classe C25, os resultados demonstram que a influência do teor de ar para os traços modificados foi tão significativa que os concretos produzidos se tornaram inadequados para uso estrutural. Por outro lado, apesar da elevada perda de resistência à compressão aos 28 dias, os dois traços produzidos com incorporação de ar no concreto de classe C40 se adequam às recomendações da NBR 16055:2012. Alia-se a isso o fato de que, quando da execução das paredes em laboratório, os concretos utilizados demonstraram grande capacidade de preenchimento, resultando em elementos com bom acabamento superficial e estrutura interna homogênea, mesmo em regiões de difícil acesso. Sendo assim, o presente trabalho propõe traços muito promissores para utilização em paredes de concreto moldadas no local. / The creation of federal programs aimed at the development of Brazilian infrastructure at the end of the last decade resulted in the heating of civil construction sector. In this context, the system of concrete walls cast in place stood out due to its high productivity and repetitiveness. The requirements and procedures for the design of concrete walls cast in place are contemplated in the NBR 16055:2012. Among the several approaches considered in this code, the recommendation for the use of self-compacting concrete is emphasized. However, some points of interest are not considered in the current regulations, such as the incorporation of air in the concrete composition, as well as the limits for entrained air contents. Thus, the present research seeks to evaluate the influence of air entrainment in the behaviour of self-compacting concrete for the construction of concrete walls cast in place. For this, two self-compacting concrete mixes design of strength classes C25 and C40 were produced and, from each of them, two other mixes modified with air entraining admixture were produced, varying the entrained air content, in a total of six mixtures whose properties were evaluated in both fresh and hardened state. In addition, concrete walls were cast to analyse the internal structure with ultrasonic equipment and the element surface finish by image analysis. In the case of class C25, the results demonstrate that the influence of the air content for the modified mixes was so great that the concretes produced became inappropriate for structural use. On the other hand, despite the high loss of compressive strength at 28 days, the two mixes produced with entrained air in the concrete of class C40 respect the recommendations of the NBR 16055:2012. In addition, when the walls were cast in laboratory, the concretes used showed great filling capacity, resulting in structures with good surface finish and homogeneous internal structure, even in difficult access regions. Therefore, the present work proposes very promising mixes for use in concrete walls cast in place.