Reliability analysis of non-destructive testing models within a probabilistic approach

Abstract

The diagnosis of reinforced concrete is essential to detect the degradation and thus maintain the structural performance of civil engineering structures. This paper aims to establish a mathematical relationship between the ultrasonic pulse velocity UPV (considered as an observable variable) and two concrete properties indicators (compressive strength fc and water content W) within a probabilistic framework. Synthetic simulations are proposed to derive a conversion model between the statistical properties of the output and the input parameters for a reinforced concrete structure by taking into account spatial variability of concrete.