Acoustic Emission Historic Index and Frequency Spectrum of Reinforced Concrete under Accelerated Corrosion

Abstract

The main cause of degradation for reinforced concrete (RC) structures is the corrosion of the steel reinforcement. Laboratory tests aimed at studying durability are typically accelerated to provide usable results within a reasonable period of time, and well-established electrochemical techniques are used for the assessment of corrosion. However, because these techniques are not suitable for continuous monitoring and are often intrusive, nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques are also suitable for monitoring. Acoustic emission (AE) is one of the NDT techniques used to detect the onset and progression of corrosion. This paper presents an accelerated corrosion test setup and AE monitoring methodology based on the historic index,