GeoNDT: a fast general-purpose computational tool for geotechnical non-destructive testing applications

The non-destructive testing (NDT) plays a crucial role in geotechnical engineering and geophysical applications, especially in the design of earthquake-resistant foundations, geotechnical field investigation, and material characterization and detection of underground anomaly. Currently, the existing signal interpretation methods in NDT measurements still predominantly rely on empirical relations or subjective judgements. In this paper, we present the GeoNDT software, which is developed to provide an advanced physics-based signal interpretation method for NDT characterization of multiphase geomaterials. GeoNDT is able to model the propagation of stress waves and dispersion relations in dry (elastodynamic), saturated (two-phase poroelastodynamic), and three-phase frozen (multiphase poroelastodynamic) geomaterials using the meshless spectral element method. GeoNDT is flexible, general-purpose, and can be used seamlessly for advanced signal interpretation in geophysical laboratory testing including the bender element and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests, characterization of complex multiphase geomaterials, and in situ shallow seismic geophysics including the falling weight deflectometer and multichannel analysis of surface waves tests. The advanced physics-based signal interpretation feature of GeoNDT allows the quantitative characterization of geophysical and geomechanical properties of geomaterials and multilayered geosystems independently without making any simplified assumptions as common in the current practice.