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Laboratory investigations on cracking in reinforced concrete beams using on-line acoustic emission monitoring technique

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Abstract

This article presents an experimental study on variation in acoustic emission (AE) parameters during cracking in reinforced concrete (RC) beams subjected to incremental cyclic loading in laboratory conditions. Nine RC beams with three different span-to-depth ratios ranging from 2.0 to 6.0 with a reinforcement ratio roughly kept the same (1.4–1.5 %) were tested under bending till failure and simultaneously the released AE was recorded. The criteria used to characterize the cracking in RC beams are based on the AE parameters. The AE parameters such as frequency, duration, amplitude, count, rise time, parameters depending on AE signatures such as b-value, and damage parameter D follow the fracture process during the entire loading. The results are useful to distinguish different cracks in RC beams and extend them for field applications.

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Abbreviations

AE:

Acoustic emission

AF:

Average frequency

RA:

Rise time

D:

Damage parameter

RC:

Reinforced concrete

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP), Indian institute of science, Bangalore India via the research project CIST/MCV/RV/008.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India

    R. Vidya Sagar

  2. Centre for Campus Maintenance and Development, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India

    B. K. Raghu Prasad

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  1. R. Vidya Sagar
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  2. B. K. Raghu Prasad
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Correspondence to R. Vidya Sagar.

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Vidya Sagar, R., Raghu Prasad, B.K. Laboratory investigations on cracking in reinforced concrete beams using on-line acoustic emission monitoring technique. J Civil Struct Health Monit 3, 169–186 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-013-0036-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-013-0036-5

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