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Civil Engineering

Dr. Vincent P. Drnevich is Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. Dr. Drnevichreceived a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Michigan, and became a Licensed Professional Engineer. His teaching and researchearned him many national awards throughout his career from the American Society of CivilEngineers (ASCE), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the American Societyfor Engineering Education (ASEE), and Chi Epsilon. He is a fellow and life member of the ASCE,and a fellow of ASTM, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and the IndianaSociety of Professional Engineers (ISPE). Dr. Drnevich has distinguished himself in teaching andresearch in geotechnical engineering. His research interests include static and dynamic engineeringproperties of soils and concrete, the effects of earthquakes on natural and engineered facilities,and nondestructive testing procedures such as wave propagation and time-domain reflectometry

Current techniques for measuring the properties of concrete, such aswater-cement ratios and compressive strengths, are often destructive and timeconsuming. New technologies are needed to increase the efficiency ofconcrete property testing.

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a method for measuring thewater and cement content, water-cement ratio, and compressive strength ofconcrete from time domain-reflectometry in a nondestructive, quick manner.This method uses a step electrical pulse that is applied to a simple, rugged,disposable probe embedded in concrete and the principle of time-domainreflectometry to estimate the free water and the cement content that are usedto calculate the water-cement ratio. Monitoring the signal and temperaturewith time allows for the calculation of long-term strength estimates based onthe data gathered at short times, typically within one day.

Advantages:-Nondestructive testing-Fast test times

Measuring Long-Term Strength of Concrete Using Time-Domain Reflectometry