Impact Echo Testing

Applicable To:

• Reinforced and unreinforced concrete slabs
• Post-tensioned ducts and grouted tendon systems
• Masonry walls and composite concrete structures
• Bridge decks (including those with asphalt overlays)
• Dams, tunnels, pavements, and airfields

Used To Evaluate:

• Internal voids, delaminations, honeycombing, and debonding
• Crack depth and propagation
• Plate or slab thickness up to 24 inches (60 cm)
• Voids beneath slabs or tunnel linings
• Quality of grout in post-tensioned ducts

Key Benefits:

• Accurate, field-portable, and non-destructive
• Rapid condition assessment with digital data capture
• Effective even through asphalt overlays or surface coatings
• Reduces exploratory demolition and accelerates diagnosis

AEIS performs impact echo testing in accordance with the following standard:

ASTM Reference:

• ASTM C1383-98a
  Standard Test Method for Measuring the P-Wave Speed and the Thickness of Concrete Plates Using the Impact-Echo Method
  (ASTM Book of Standards Volume 04.02, ASTM International).

ACI Reference:

• ACI 228.2R-13 – Section 3.5.3Recommends Impact Echo for detecting voids, honeycombing, delamination, and estimating concrete thickness.

AASHTO Reference:

• AASHTO TP 90 (Standard Test Method for Evaluating Asphalt Concrete Pavement Layers Using the Impact Echo Method)This applies more for pavement assessments but aligned with broader FHWA-AASHTO guidelines.

All testing is conducted by trained technicians using calibrated equipment, with results interpreted by licensed engineers familiar with infrastructure behavior and structural diagnostics. Impact echo complements other AEIS specialty field testing methods such as SASW, GPR, and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity, providing a holistic understanding of internal concrete condition.