In situ nonlinear ultrasonic technique for monitoring microcracking in concrete subjected to creep and cyclic loading.

This research conducts in situ nonlinear ultrasonic (NLU) measurements for real time monitoring of load-induced damage in concrete. For the in situ measurements on a cylindrical specimen under sustained load, a previously developed second harmonic generation (SHG) technique with non-contact detection is adapted to a cylindrical specimen geometry. This new setup is validated by demonstrating that the measured nonlinear Rayleigh wave signals are equivalent to those in a flat half space, and thus the acoustic nonlinearity parameter, β can be defined and interpreted in the same way.

Kinetics of the OH initiated oxidation of nitrogen monoxide.

The kinetics of the recombination reaction, OH+NO+(M) --> Products have been investigated by the Pulsed Laser Photolysis-Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLP-LIF) technique in nitrogen and helium buffer gases at room temperature and as a function of pressure (30-900 Torr). Our values for the absolute rate coefficient in nitrogen at room temperature are in excellent agreement with the JPL 2003 and with the current IUPAC 2003 recommendations. With the exception of a very old study by Overend, our rate constants in helium are the only ones to cover the range of pressures between 30 and 900 Torr.