ACOUSTIC EMISSION SiGMA ANALYSIS ON SHEAR COMPRESSION FAILURE IN REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS

Abstract

Mechanisms of shear failure in a reinforce concrete (RC) beam were investigated, applying AE techniques. An RC beam with a small ratio (1.97) of the shear-span to the effective depth was studied under 4-point bending. To identify the mechanisms of AE sources, SiGMA procedure was applied. Cracking mechanisms in the RC beam were investigated by SiGMA analysis and AE parameter analysis. As a result, an accumulation process of microcracks in the shear span is visually clarified prior to the nucleation of the final shear compression failure plane. Concerning the crack classification, the difference between AE parameter analysis and SiGMA analysis is discussed for AE applications to monitoring.