NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai,

T.N., India

Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Cement Concrete Subject to Uniaxial

Compression and Analysis of b-value Ranges
Navnika SUDHIR
NITK Surathkal, Mangalore – 575025, Karnataka, India
navnika.s@gmail.com
More info about this article: http://www.ndt.net/?id=22344

Abstract:
The need for health monitoring of structures is imperative and urgent. Acoustic Emission is a method proposed to
do so, and b-value analysis is one of the possible ways to process the AE data obtained during a local monitoring.
The b-value is defined as the log-linear slope of the frequency-magnitude distribution of acoustic emissions. In
this study, a b-value analysis has been carried out on unreinforced concrete samples of varying strengths. During
the experiment, compressive load was applied on the specimens uniaxially and the AE data was collected via
sensors attached to the specimens. The ranges of b-values of each type of concrete sample were plotted and
compared and significant conclusions were drawn.

Keywords: Acoustic Emission, b-value, cement concrete

1. Introduction

As structures like buildings and bridges age and deteriorate, it has become increasingly
important to monitor them using Non-Destructive methods of Testing. Acoustic Emission (AE)
is one such method of monitoring structures.

Acoustic Emission is the phenomenon wherein transient elastic waves are generated by rapid
release of energy from localized sources within a material under load. They are caused due to
localized and rapid release of strain energy in stressed material. Tests using AE data of material
is a form of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). A Non-Destructive Test is an analysis technique
used to evaluate the properties of a material without causing damage to the material.

We use AE parameters to do the experiment to assess damage using b-value analysis. This
analysis is based on the Gutenberg-Richter law, which is commonly used in seismology to
study frequency of earthquakes of varying magnitudes. It states that events of large magnitudes
occur less frequently than events of smaller magnitudes.

Similarly, we can relate to AE activity when a concrete structure is under load. Incremental
earthquake frequency can be related to frequency of AE waves after a certain amplitude
threshold, and magnitude can be related to amplitude of AE waves. Different types of cracks
generate different types of AE signals with varying frequency ranges and amplitudes. Relating
to the Gutenberg-Richter law, microcracks generate a large number of events of small
amplitude while macrocracks generate fewer events of larger magnitudes.

2. Equation

The Gutenberg-Richter formula used in seismology is as follows:

log10N = a – bM

Where,
- M is the Richter magnitude of the events

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NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai, T.N., India

- N is the incremental frequency (number of events/earthquakes with greater magnitude than M)

- a and b are empirical constants, where b is also referred to as b-value

We modify this equation in favour of AE parameters.

The Richter magnitude is proportional to logarithm of the maximum amplitude recorded in a

seismic trace, as well as proportional to the logarithm of the source rupture area S.

Since the AE peak amplitude is measured in dB, and Richter magnitude is defined in terms of
logarithm of maximum amplitude, we divide the AE amplitude by a factor of 20 to be
comparable with the magnitudes used in seismology.

Hence, in terms of AE parameters, the Gutenberg –Richter relation can be modified as:

log10N = a – b(AdB/20)

Where,
- N is the incremental frequency (the number of AE hits with amplitude greater than A)
- A is the amplitude of the AE waves measured in dB.

3. Test Description

All the data reported in this work refer to an experiment carried out on plain cement concrete
samples (see Fig. 2) in the Structures Laboratory of the Indian Institute of Technology,
Bangalore, India. The samples were cylindrical of diameter 150mm and height 300mm (see
Fig.1). Three types of specimens having varying aggregate sizes of the following compositions
were prepared:
i) Maximum 20mm size aggregates
ii) Maximum 12.5mm size aggregates
iii) Plain cement mortar
Three specimens of each category were tested after 7, 14 and 28 days.

Two sensors were used for each specimen during testing to record AE waves. Each sensor
was fixed to opposite sides of the curved surface of the specimen, at the midpoint of the length.
High vacuum silicon grease was used as a couplant to attach the sensors to the specimens. In
addition, tape was used to secure the sensors in position. The AE threshold was set to 40dB to
eliminate the background noises and record only the emissions due to the cracking of the
concrete.

The MTS (Material Test System) machine was a displacement control machine. Uniaxial
compressive load was applied on each specimen. The rate of loading was 5 microns per second.

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NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai, T.N., India

Fig. 2. Samples used for the test

Fig. 1. Dimensions of the sample

and location of sensors

4. Analysis and Results

The AE data of all the tested specimens were recorded through AEwin SAMOS software. The
data was analyzed and the load vs. time as well as b-value graphs were plotted using
MATLAB.

Fig. 3. Sample mounted on the MTS

Machine, after failure

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NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai, T.N., India

The following are the results obtained:

Fig. 4. Load vs. Time graphs for all three types of specimens on day 7

First, the Load vs. Time graphs for the three types of specimens after taking the data on the
th
7 day of curing (Fig. 4) were plotted. As expected, the concrete with the larger aggregate size
(20mm) had the highest peak load and the most time taken till failure, and subsequently the
cement mortar sample failed much faster and had a much lesser peak load.

Fig. 5. b-values vs. time for all 3 types of specimens on day 7

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NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai, T.N., India

In order to plot the range of b-values, the range of amplitudes was chosen, starting at 45dB,
and increased by 5dB at every interval to reach 100dB. The b-value was found for every 100
hits taking the above amplitude range into consideration, and plotted. As the plot of b-values
was quite jagged and irregular, a medfilt function was used to filter the values by an order of
10.

As seen in fig. 5, the range of b-values seems to elongate with the increase in the strength of
the concrete. It is also observed, that at first, when the microcracks develop, the range of b-
values is quite narrow, but starts widening after the microcracks start coalescing to form
macrocracks, and reaches a maximum. It starts decreasing again once the macrocracks start
increasing in number and drops to the minimum value again. It is observed that the weakest
concrete specimen has the highest minimum value and lowest maximum b-value, while the
strongest specimen has the lowest minimum value and highest maximum b-value.

Fig. 6. Load by Peak Load percentage and b-value vs. time for samples of 12.5mm aggregate size and mortar

In fig. 6, the load by peak load vs. time percentage has been plotted on the primary axes and
b-value vs. time has been plotted on the secondary axes to observe the trend of b-values
towards failure in more detail. It is seen that just before failure of the specimen, the b-values
reach a maximum, and decrease rapidly as failure is reached (load/peak load = 100%).

5. Conclusions

A load vs. time as well as a b-value analysis was carried out on unreinforced cylindrical cement
samples, and the following conclusions were observed:
• The results of the load vs. time graphs satisfied the presumption that concrete with more
strength would have a higher peak load as well as longer failure time.
• The results of the b-value analysis confirmed that the b-value range is interlinked with
the stages of fracture process of the concrete.
• As microcracks form, the b-value trend is minimum, increases as microcracks coalesce
to form macrocracks and reach a maximum, and decrease as the macrcracks start
forming and lead to failure.

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NDE 2017 Conference & Exhibition of the Indian Society for NDT (ISNT), 14-16 December 2017, Chennai, T.N., India

• The above conclusion gives rise to the possible division of the fracture process into
three stages depending on the trend of b-values.

6. Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express gratitude and sincere appreciation to Dr. R. Vidya Sagar,
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for his constant
guidance and support throughout the course of this experiment, to the fourteen other colleagues
who worked on the experiment as well as the technical and support staff of the University for
their help.

7. References

1. S. Colombo, I. G. Main and M. C Forde, ‘Assessing Damage of Reinforced Concrete

Beam Using “b-value’ Analysis of Acoustic Emission Signals’, Journal of Materials in
Civil Engineering, ASCE, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
2. J. G. M. van Mier, ‘Failure of Concrete under Uniaxial Compression: an Overview’,
Fracture Mechanics of Concrete Structures, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The
Netherlands.
3. A. Farhidzadeh, S. Salamone, ‘Introducing Sifted b-value Analysis and a New Crack
Classification for Monitoring Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls by Acoustic Emission’,
Researchgate, State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, USA
4. N. Vivek, ‘Crack Classification of Concrete under Uniaxial Compression using
Acoustic Emission Monitoring Technique’, International Journal of Engineering
Research & Technology (IJERT), VIT University, Tamil Nadu, India