• Alhajj, Marie Antoinette

Abstract

Non-destructive assessment methods providing access to the measurement of electrical resistivity and dielectric permittivity are very sensitive to the degree of saturation of concrete. When inverted and calibrated independently, these measurements provide profiles of saturation degree gradients as a function of depth. In this thesis, we develop a joint inversion approach for resistivity and permittivity measurements to improve the reliability and accuracy of the estimated saturation degree profiles. We model the measurements on a concrete slab in 3D by the finite element method, the concrete being considered as a homogeneous medium with respect to aggregates but having a saturation profile with depth, represented by a continuous model taking the form of a Weibull distribution with four parameters.For the inversion ofmeasurementsto estimatethe profileof S, we have developed a non-linear least-squares algorithm of the Levenberg-Marquardt type. Taking into account the uncertainties associated with each set of measurements is an integral part of the method developed in order to refine its reliability, which also makes it possible to propagate these uncertainties over the estimated parameters. Two experimental campaigns, one of drying, the other of imbibition, on concrete slabs, are organized to test the algorithm of joint inversion. Significant progress has been made with the estimation of profiles by the new joint inversion approach. These profiles, also compared to other independent methods, appear to be more stable and more consistent with the evolution due to the drying and the imbibition of concrete than those estimated by separate inversion of the observables

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• resistivity
• drying