DGZfP-Proceedings BB 90-CD Poster 5 EWGAE 2004
Acoustic Emission Method as a Diagnostic Tool for
Corrosion Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams
Marta Korenska, Brno UT, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Dept. of Physics, Czech
Lubos Pazdera, Brno UT, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Dept. of Physics, Czech
Karel Pospisil, Transport Research Centre, Brno, Czech
Monika Manychova, Brno UT, Fac. of Civil Eng., Dept. of Build. Constr., Czech
Keywords: acoustic emission method, corrosion, reinforced concrete beam
Abstract
The paper deals with acoustic emission evaluation of deterioration of
reinforced concrete beams during flexural tests under repeated loadings. The beams
were deteriorated due to accelerated corrosion of reinforcement. The tests
demonstrated that acoustic emission is very sensitive to detect the initiation of tensile
microcracks, main tensile cracks and internal cracks generated near the interface
between the reinforcement and concrete. They were revealed that the deteriorated
beams exhibit different acoustic emission behaviour, depending on the different
damage levels induced by the corrosion of the reinforcement. Acoustic emission
parameter analysis showed that a Felicity ratio, the ratio of the load at onset of
acoustic emission and the maximum prior load, is a very effective criterion to
measure the severity of damage induced in the reinforced concrete beams. High
acoustic emission activity during unloading was also shown to be an effective index
to estimate the deterioration of reinforced concrete beams due to corrosion of
reinforcement.
Introduction
Reinforced concrete structure condition has become a hot issue during last ten
years. Most reinforced concrete structures and constructions exhibit quite a good
endurance, showing that reinforced concrete is a stable building material. On the
other hand, it is well known that, under certain circumstances, there arise serious
faults in some structure parts, or, that a total destruction of the reinforced concrete
structures or buildings may even take place. Rehabilitation techniques have been
developing in foreign countries for several decades. In this field, rapid development
has also begun in this country during last period. Thanks to a number of renowned
experts as well as professional societies, which had established around them, our
civil engineering managed to keep pace with the foreign countries’ research. A
problem which proves to persist, however, consists in the lack of non-destructive
methods to be applied in the defectoscopy of inhomogeneous materials and complex
form bodies (which are typical of the building industry), by means of which the
internal structure of constructions and their static reliability could be assessed and
their service life estimated. The absence of such methods appears to be most severe
in the cases of building structure breakdown.
The acoustic emission based method appears to be very well suited for this
purpose, because it can detect easily the emerging and developing processes, of
which concrete cracks or armature corrosion are good examples undoubtedly. It may
therefore be assumed that, based on the ongoing application of new developments,
the acoustic emission method will gradually become one of the promising non-
destructive diagnostic methods for reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete
bridge structures.
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Experiment
Our experiments have been designed to study the response of standard reinforced
concrete joists to bending stress in compliance with ČSN EN 12390-5, see Fig. 1.
The specimens to be stressed were prepared in the laboratories of CDV Tišnov. They
were 10 cm x 10 cm x 40 cm in size. The specimen set consisted of specimens
having a dia. 8 mm armature, a portion of the specimen set being subject to
accelerated corrosion tests, and, further, several plain-concrete specimens.
The stressing consisted in three stress cycles, with maximum stress forces of 3 kN,
6 kN and 10 kN. The specimen stress versus time plot is shown in Fig. 2. Acoustic
emission impulse counts were registered during the stress cycles. [1]
Fig. 1 Specimen stress test layout
The parameter to be monitored during the cyclic stress tests was the acoustic
emission impulse frequency. Cumulative counts of the acoustic emission induced
impulses versus specimen stress plots are shown in Fig. 3 to 5. Fig. 3 shows the
cumulative frequency of acoustic emission impulses for plain concrete specimen
stressing. It is evident from the chart that irreversible structure defects took place
already during the first stress cycle – the so-called Felicity effect. Fig. 4 shows the
measurement results for a dia. 8 mm armature specimen which has not been subject
to forced corrosion. Fig. 5 displays the measurement results for a forcedly corroded
specimen. The non-corroded specimen behaviour demonstrates the Kaiser effect.
The impulse count growth is rather gradual, being linear between 3 MPa and ~ 5
MPa. An abrupt growth appears above ~ 5 MPa. Fig. 5 shows the behaviour of a
forcedly corroded armature specimen. Felicity effect is apparent between the second
and the third stress cycle. An exponential growth in the impulse count is evident for
stresses exceeding 3 MPa.
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Fig. 2 Specimen stress versus time plot
Fig. 3 Acoustic emission impulse cumulative frequency - plain concrete specimen
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Fig. 4 Acoustic emission impulse cumulative frequency - non-corroded, dia. 8 mm
armature specimen
Fig. 5 Acoustic emission impulse cumulative frequency - corroded, dia. 8 mm
armature specimen
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Conclusion
The parameter under investigation – the acoustic emission impulse cumulative
frequency – showed the Felicity effect during the stress tests, thus providing
information on the generation of irreversible structure defects. In the case of plain
concrete specimens (Fig. 3), the Felicity effect was registered between all stress
cycles. For reinforced concrete specimens, the impulse cumulative frequency curves
provide information on the acoustic emission impulse counts for various specimen
stress magnitudes. In the corroded specimen case (Fig. 5), showing also the Felicity
effect between the first and second cycle, the source of these signals consisted
obviously in microcracks arising in the binder in the armature neighbourhood, in
consequence of the incipient armature corrosion. It is thus confirmed [2] that the
occurrence of the Felicity effect during the cyclic stressing tests gives evidence of
irreversible structure defects taking place in the material. These defects may be due
to both lower specimen strength (plain concrete) and deterioration of the armature-to-
concrete bonds in consequence of the incipient armature corrosion.
Acknowledgement
This research has been supported by the Ministry of Education of the Czech
Rep. under contract No. CEZ J22/98:26100007 and by the Grant Agency of the
Czech Rep. under grant GACR No. 103/03/0295. This work was supported also as a
part of a research project No~803/120/108 of the Ministry of Transport and
Communications of the Czech Rep. awarded to transport Research Centre with co-
operation by Department of Physics, Fac. of Civil Eng., Brno University of
Technology.
References
[1] Korenska M., Pazdera L., Pospisil K., Vyroubal P.: Reinforced Concrete Diagnostics by
Acoustic Emission Method, 33rd International Conference Defektoskopie 2003,
proceedings, November 19-21, 2003, Ostrava, Czech Republic, pp. 111-116, ISBN 80-
214-2475-3
[2] Yuji Murakami, Shigenori Yuyama: Acoustic Emission Evaluation of Structural
Integrity in Reinforced Concrete Beams Deteriorated Due to Corrosion of
Reinforcement, Progress in Acoustic Emission VIII, The Japane Society for NDL, 1996,
pp.217-224
[3] Palková M., Pazdera L., Korenska M., Smutny J., Pospisil K.: Jak simulovat korozi
železné výztuže železobetonového vzorku pomocí metody akustické emise (Acoustic
Emission in Simulation and Testing of the Iron Reinforcement Corrossion in Steel-
Reinforced Concrete Samples), sborník příspěvků, Defektoskopie 2001, 31.
mezinárodní konference, Praha, 20.-22. listopad, 2001, pp. 223-230, ISBN 80-214-
2002-2
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