Abstract
As a detailed inspection of a concrete structure in service, core samples are usually drilled out and then mechanical properties are measured. In this study, damage estimation of concrete structures from core samples is developed, applying acoustic emission (AE) and X-ray CT. Concrete-core samples were taken from reinforced concrete of an existing canal. These samples are strongly influenced by freezing and thawing process. The crack distributions of concrete-core samples were inspected with helical CT scans. After helical CT scan, damage of testing samples was evaluated, based on fracturing behavior under unconfined compression with AE. AE behavior is dependent on the degree of damage, and could be approximated by applying the AE rate process analysis. The AE generation behavior is associated with crack volume responsible for damage in concrete. The characteristics of cracking damage is calculated from X ray CT images with spatial statistics parameters. Thus, the accumulation of cracking damage could be evaluated by comparing spatial parameter with AE. These values are affected by the internal actual cracks. The damage of concrete structures could be quantitatively evaluated by acoustic emission and X-ray CT.
