Strategies for reliable second harmonic of nonlinear acoustic wave through cement-based materials

The strategies for retrieving reliable nonlinear second harmonic in cement-based materials are proposed in this paper using high-performance test system, piezoelectric transducers with central frequency in MHz, monochromatic tone-burst excitation and robust data process method.The Fundamental and second-order harmonics are measured to retrieve reliable acoustic nonlinearity with the input power level increased from ∼50 V to ∼280 V. About 173 times repeatable measurements are conducted to verify the stability of the experimental system. Specimens with three distinct aggregate sizes are used to measure the acoustic nonlinearity under uniaxial load. The results show a decrease in the measured acoustic nonlinearity at early damage stage, then a slight increase when large cracks coalesce. The rapid increase in acoustic nonlinearity at the final stage indicates the imminent failure. Our results also suggest that the nonlinear ultrasonic method is more sensitive than P-wave velocity for damage evaluation.