Nondestructive Testing (NDT) technique -impact-echo- recently has drawn a remarkable amount of attention for nondestructive evaluation of defects in concrete structures. Experimental and numerical studies were performed to verify the effectiveness and reliability of the impact echo technique to evaluate the propagation of cracks in reinforced concrete full scale beams. In the experimental investigation, impact-echo tests were performed concurrently with dynamic load tests. Impact-echo tests quantified the degradation of the beam stiffness during dynamic testing through detecting the reduction in wave velocity propagation after each load-set in the cyclic load. Numerical studies were carried out to acquire the transient responses of intact concrete beam subjected to impact. In addition, the impact responses of cracked concrete beam were numerically simulated. Numerical results were verified by the measured experimental data on concrete beam with or without cracks. Results of the experimental and numerical studies showed that it is feasible to use the impact-echo as a promising method in the detection of cracks development in reinforced concrete beams.
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