Publication: Structural health monitoring of corroded reinforced concrete beam based on acoustic emmission technique
Date
2020-08-01
Authors
Shahid, Khairul Anuar
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Abstract
The ingress of chloride ions into concrete is the leading cause of corrosion in
reinforced concrete and the presence of existing cracks will further accelerate the
corrosion process. Therefore, an early detection of corrosion initiation and
performance evaluation of corroded reinforced concrete is vital for a better
maintenance plan. Structural health monitoring (SHM) can be utilized to detect and
evaluate the corrosion by implementing the acoustic emission (AE) technique. This
study presents early corrosion detection and damage assessment on full-scale
reinforced concrete beams. Three pre-cracked and three uncracked specimens were
subjected to corrosion test by adding NaCl solution and the process was accelerated
using impressed current technique. Further, the corroded uncracked specimens were
subjected to cyclic load test (CLT) for identification of types of damage and
classification of severity of damage. Both experiments were continuously monitored
using the AE technique and the data was collected through located event method. The
results showed that the initiation and propagation of corrosion could be detected and
characterized using the AE technique and the effect of existing crack could lead to
early initiation of corrosion. It was also found that the crack damage characterization
(tensile/ shear crack mode) and severity damage classification could be evaluated
based on AE parameter analysis. The results based on located event have shown a
good agreement with visible crack mapping recorded during the CLT and other
damage classification methods. From a structural health monitoring (SHM)
perspective, this study emphasizes the elements under SHM including damage
detection, characterization of types of damage and severity damage classification for
corroded reinforced concrete beams. Therefore, this study could benefit the bridge
owner as well as local authority in decision making for maintenance prioritization
works.