Approach to the development of a model to quantify the quality of tendon localization in concrete using ultrasound

¹ Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
² HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences, Wilhelminenhofstraße 75a, 12459 Berlin, Germany

^* Corresponding author: stefan.kuettenbaum@bam.de

Abstract

Each engineering decision is based on a number of more or less accurate information. In assessment of existing structures, additional relevant information collected with on-site inspections facilitate better decisions. However, observed data basically represents the physical characteristic of interest with an uncertainty. This uncertainty is a measure of the inspection quality and can be quantified by expressing the measurement uncertainty. The internationally accepted rules for calculating measurement uncertainty are well established and can be applied straightforwardly in many practical cases. Nevertheless, the calculations require the occasionally time-consuming development of an individually suitable measurement model. This contribution attempts to emphasize proposals for modelling the non-destructive depth measurement of tendons in concrete using the ultrasonic echo technique. The proposed model can serve as guideline for the determination of the quality of the measured information in future comparable inspection scenarios.