SERVICES

Ultrasound in concrete

The objective of the ultrasound test is to evaluate the quality of the concrete structures, with respect to the internal faults of the structure. Some of its applicabilities are:

1. Know the integrity of the concrete structure, determining the regions of low and high quality.

2. Evaluate the physical integrity of concrete joints.

3. Evaluate the physical integrity of resin injections such as, for example, cracks in concrete structures.

5. Advise on the extraction of testimonies, determining the best regions for the extraction (regions of the structure with high concentration of failures).

6. Determine the strength (fcj) of the concrete. However, a minimum sample extraction for the compression strength test according to the size of the service will be required for correlation between the results of the ultrasound and the rupture.

Concrete tomography

The tomography test in concrete structures is the most modern in the world, in the analysis of pathologies of concrete structures. Some of its applicabilities:

• Detect voids inside the concrete;

• Determine the depth of voids;

• Determine the depth of the steel bars.

Corrosion potencial of armor

Test used to determine the corrosion potential of the reinforcement bars, that is, whether or not the reinforcement bars is in a corrosive state.

This test works in consonance with the test of electrical resistivity of the concrete.

Determination of armor location - Profoscope

The Profoscope is an important ally in the construction site, when it is necessary to confirm the spacing and the covering of the reinforcement bars, inside the structures of reinforced concrete.

It is able to accurately determine these characteristics non-destructively while maintaining the structural integrity of the concrete part.

An equipment that integrates the technological solutions applied by Ultralab Engenharia in its diagnostic services of concrete structures.

Electrical resistivity of concrete

Concrete offers two types of steel protection: physical and chemical. The first occurs, in itself, due to the fact that the concrete involves the armature. The second is characterized by the chemical components formed during the concrete curing process. Part of these components, such as calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], participate in the formation of the passivating layer that surrounds the steel, others contribute to the maintenance of the pH of the concrete in levels between 11.5 and 14 .

In this way, the electrical resistivity test of the concrete is used to evaluate the resistive capacity of the concrete to the passage of the electric current and thus to protect the reinforcement bars of the development of the corrosive process in the same one.

Concrete pH determination test

The phenolphthalein spray can indicate, with the carmine color, that the concrete is not carbonated. However, it is now known that only the phenolphthalein test is not sufficient to determine the integrity (“health”) of the concrete. The pH of the concrete may be less than 11.5, even though it shows the carmine coloration after the phenolphthalein spray test, indicating that the concrete is not carbonated. Considering that the pH of a healthy reinforced concrete structure should vary between 12 and 14 and the minimum pH for maintaining its integrity is 11.5, the pH test is of singificant importance for the analysis of the durability of structures.