ABSTRACT
Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures are widely used in civil infrastructure systems because of low construction cost and long service life under various conditions. The behaviour of reinforced concrete structures under both static and dynamic loads is highly dependent on the interface between the concrete and the reinforcing bars. When the interface is seriously damaged, such that a macro-crack is formed, debonding takes place and large slip occurs, and the load-transferring capacity of the interface will drop dramatically. This paper presents a novel technique to detect the delamination between the steel bars and concrete in the reinforced concrete structures. The piezoelectric components are mounted on reinforcing bars that were embedded in RC structures as sensors and actuators to generate the signal, which is sensitive to the delamination between the steel bars and concrete. The experimental study is carried out on a concrete slab with different debonds between the rebars and concrete. The test results show that the delamination between the rebars and concrete can be detected with the embedded piezoelectric sensors and actuators.
