Evaluation of Abrasion Resistance of Self-Consolidating Rubberized Concrete by Acoustic Emission Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the abrasion resistance of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) with crumb rubber (CR) in conjunction with acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. The variables were the type of concrete (normal concrete and SCC), the coarse aggregate content, the use of supplementary cementing materials (SCM), and the CR content. The AE characteristics such as the signal amplitude, signal strength, and number of hits were obtained from the AE software used during the abrasion testing. The signal amplitude and strength data obtained were further analyzed to calculate the b-value, severity (Sr), and historic index [H(t)]. The results showed that the addition of CR negatively affected the abrasion resistance of the tested samples, whereas the addition of SCM greatly enhanced the abrasion. A good correlation was found between the abrasion damage and the AE parameters, including the number of hits, signal strength, b-value, H(t), and Sr. The results also presented developed damage classification charts using the AE intensity parameters [H(t) and Sr] to determine the ranges that indicate the extent of damage due to the abrasion of the tested mixtures.