Acoustic emission characteristics of damage evolution of multi-scale fiber reinforced rubberized concrete under uniaxial compression and tension after being subjected to high temperatures

Abstract

Recently developed multi-scale fiber (i.e., CaCO₃ whisker, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, and steel fiber) reinforced rubberized concrete exhibits excellent mechanical properties and spalling resistance at high temperatures. Measurement of macro properties such as strength and Young’s modulus cannot reveal and characterize damage mechanisms, particularly those relating to the multi-scale fiber strengthening effect. In this study, acoustic emission (AE) technology is applied to investigate the impact of multi-scale fiber on the damage evolution of rubberized concrete exposed to high temperatures, under the uniaxial compression and tension loading processes. The mechanical properties, AE event location, peak frequency, b-value, the ratio of rise time to amplitude (RA), average frequency (AF) values, and AE energy of specimens are investigated. The results show that the number of events observed using AE gradually increases as the loading progresses. The crumb rubber and fibers inhibit the generation and development of the cracks. It is concluded that both the peak frequency and b-value reflect the extension process of cracks. As the cracks develop from the micro scale to the macro scale, the peak frequency tends to be distributed in a lower frequency range, and the b-value decreases gradually. At the peak stress point, the AE energy increases rapidly and the b-value decreases. The specimens without multi-scale fibers exhibit brittle failure, while the specimens with fibers exhibit ductile failure. In addition, adding multi-scale fibers and crumb rubber increases the peak frequency in the medium and high frequency ranges, indicating a positive effect on inhibiting crack development. After being subjected to high temperatures, the maximum and minimum b-values decrease, reflecting an increase in the number of initial cracks due to thermal damage. Meanwhile, the RA and AF values are used to classify tensile and shear cracks. The specimens fracture with more shear cracks under compression, and there are more tensile cracks in specimens with multi-scale fibers under tension.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

multi-scale fibers / acoustic emission / fracture / damage evolution / rubberized concrete

References

[1] Habib A, Yildirim U, Eren O. Mechanical and dynamic properties of high strength concrete with well graded coarse and fine tire rubber. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 246: 118502

[2] Thomas B S, Gupta R C, Mehra P, Kumar S. Performance of high strength rubberized concrete in aggressive environment. Construction and Building Materials, 2015, 83: 320–326

[3] Mei J, Xu G, Ahmad W, Khan K, Amin M N, Aslam F, Alaskar A. Promoting sustainable materials using recycled rubber in concrete: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022, 373: 133927

[4] Aslani F, Kelin J. Assessment and development of high-performance fibre-reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete including recycled crumb rubber aggregates exposed to elevated temperatures. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 200: 1009–1025

[5] Kaewunruen S, Li D, Chen Y, Xiang Z. Enhancement of dynamic damping in eco-friendly railway concrete sleepers using waste-tyre crumb rubber. Materials, 2018, 11(7): 1169

[6] Eisa A S, Elshazli M T, Nawar M T. Experimental investigation on the effect of using crumb rubber and steel fibers on the structural behavior of reinforced concrete beams. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 252: 119078

[7] Zhang J, Niu W, Yang Y, Hou D, Dong B. Research on the mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol-modified waste rubber-filled cement paste using digital image correlation technology. Composite Structures, 2023, 320: 117164

[8] Zhang Y, Zhang S, Jiang X, Zhao W, Wang Y, Zhu P, Yan Z, Zhu H. Uniaxial tensile properties of multi-scale fiber reinforced rubberized concrete after exposure to elevated temperatures. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023, 389: 136068

[9] Yu Y, Jin Z, Shen D, An J, Sun Y, Li N. Microstructure evolution and impact resistance of crumb rubber concrete after elevated temperatures. Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 384: 131340

[10] Su Q, Xu J. Durability and mechanical properties of rubber concrete incorporating basalt and polypropylene fibers: Experimental evaluation at elevated temperatures. Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 368: 130445

[11] Zhang Y, Zhang S, Zhao W, Jiang X, Chen Y, Hou J, Wang Y, Yan Z, Zhu H. Influence of multi-scale fiber on residual compressive properties of a novel rubberized concrete subjected to elevated temperatures. Journal of Building Engineering, 2023, 65: 105750

[12] Fu Y, Shang Y, Hu W, Li B, Yu Q. Non-contact optical dynamic measurements at different ranges: A review. Acta Mechanica Sinica, 2021, 37(4): 537–553

[13] Liu B, Guo J, Wen X, Zhou J, Deng Z. Study on flexural behavior of carbon fibers reinforced coral concrete using digital image correlation. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 242: 117968

[14] Pang Y, Lingamanaik S, Chen B, Yu S. Measurement of deformation of the concrete sleepers under different support conditions using non-contact laser speckle imaging sensor. Engineering Structures, 2020, 205: 110054

[15] XuJFuZHanQLiH. Fracture monitoring and damage pattern recognition for carbon nanotube-crumb rubber mortar using acoustic emission techniques. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 2019, 26(10)

[16] Wu Y, Li S, Wang D, Zhao G. Damage monitoring of masonry structure under in-situ uniaxial compression test using acoustic emission parameters. Construction and Building Materials, 2019, 215: 812–822

[17] Yue J G, Kunnath S K, Xiao Y. Uniaxial concrete tension damage evolution using acoustic emission monitoring. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 232: 117281

[18] Behnia A, Chai H K, GhasemiGol M, Sepehrinezhad A, Mousa A A. Advanced damage detection technique by integration of unsupervised clustering into acoustic emission. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2019, 210: 212–227

[19] Liu H, Liu S, Zhou P, Zhang Y, Jiao Y. Mechanical properties and crack classification of basalt fiber RPC based on acoustic emission parameters. Applied Sciences, 2019, 9(18): 3931

[20] Liu M, Lu J, Ming P, Song J. AE-based damage identification of concrete structures under monotonic and fatigue loading. Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 377: 131112

[21] Liu M, Lu J, Ming P, Yin Y. Study of fracture properties and post-peak softening process of rubber concrete based on acoustic emission. Construction and Building Materials, 2021, 313: 125487

[22] Xu J, Niu X, Ma Q, Han Q. Mechanical properties and damage analysis of rubber cement mortar mixed with ceramic waste aggregate based on acoustic emission monitoring technology. Construction and Building Materials, 2021, 309: 125084

[23] Xue C, Yu M, Xu H, Xu L, Saafi M, Ye J. Compressive performance and deterioration mechanism of ultra-high performance concrete with coarse aggregates under and after heating. Journal of Building Engineering, 2023, 64: 105502

[24] Xie J, Zhang Z, Lu Z, Sun M. Coupling effects of silica fume and steel-fiber on the compressive behaviour of recycled aggregate concrete after exposure to elevated temperature. Construction and Building Materials, 2018, 184: 752–764

[25] Guo S, Dai Q, Si R, Sun X, Lu C. Evaluation of properties and performance of rubber-modified concrete for recycling of waste scrap tire. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017, 148: 681–689

[26] Zhang C, Xia C, Wang Z, Zhang K. Tensile properties of hybrid fiber-reinforced strain-hardening cementitious composite exposed to elevated temperature. Journal of Building Engineering, 2021, 34: 101886

[27] Wu Y F, Kazmi S M S, Munir M J, Zhou Y, Xing F. Effect of compression casting method on the compressive strength, elastic modulus and microstructure of rubber concrete. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 264: 121746

[28] Dehdezi P K, Erdem S, Blankson M A. Physico-mechanical, microstructural and dynamic properties of newly developed artificial fly ash based lightweight aggregate––Rubber concrete composite. Composites. Part B, Engineering, 2015, 79: 451–455

[29] Zhang Y, Ju J W, Zhu H, Yan Z. A novel multi-scale model for predicting the thermal damage of hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete. International Journal of Damage Mechanics, 2019, 29(1): 19–44

[30] Li L, Gao D, Li Z, Cao M, Gao J, Zhang Z. Effect of high temperature on morphologies of fibers and mechanical properties of multi-scale fiber reinforced cement-based composites. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 261: 120487

[31] Zhang Y, Woody Ju J, Xu F, Yan Z, Zhu H. A novel micromechanical model of residual fracture energy of hooked-end steel fiber reinforced concrete exposed to high temperature. Construction and Building Materials, 2021, 278: 122211

[32] Li S, Zhang L, Guo P, Zhang P, Wang C, Sun W, Han S. Characteristic analysis of acoustic emission monitoring parameters for crack propagation in UHPC-NC composite beam under bending test. Construction and Building Materials, 2021, 278: 122401

[33] Zhang H, Jin C, Wang L, Pan L, Liu X, Ji S. Research on dynamic splitting damage characteristics and constitutive model of basalt fiber reinforced concrete based on acoustic emission. Construction and Building Materials, 2022, 319: 126018

[34] Gutkin R, Green C J, Vangrattanachai S, Pinho S T, Robinson P, Curtis P T. On acoustic emission for failure investigation in CFRP: Pattern recognition and peak frequency analyses. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 2011, 25(4): 1393–1407

[35] Tang Y, Guo Y, Chen X, Wang Z, Wei Y. Acoustic emission characteristics of concrete cylinders reinforced with steel-fiber-reinforced composite bars under uniaxial compression. Journal of Building Engineering, 2022, 59: 105074

[36] Xu X, Jin Z, Yu Y, Li N. Damage source and its evolution of ultra-high performance concrete monitoring by digital image correlation and acoustic emission technologies. Journal of Building Engineering, 2023, 65: 105734

[37] Colombo I S, Main I G, Forde M C. Assessing damage of reinforced concrete beam using “b-value” analysis of acoustic emission signals. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 2003, 15(3): 280–286

[38] Jung D, Yu W R, Na W. Use of acoustic emission b(Ib)-values to quantify damage in composites. Composites Communications, 2020, 22: 100499

[39] Shahidan S, Pulin R, Muhamad Bunnori N, Holford K M. Damage classification in reinforced concrete beam by acoustic emission signal analysis. Construction and Building Materials, 2013, 45: 78–86

[40] Masayasu O. Recommendation of RILEM TC 212-ACD: Acoustic emission and related NDE techniques for crack detection and damage evaluation in concrete. Materials and Structures, 2010, 43(9): 1183–1186

[41] Aggelis D G. Classification of cracking mode in concrete by acoustic emission parameters. Mechanics Research Communications, 2011, 38(3): 153–157

[42] Zheng Q, Li C, He B, Jiang Z. Revealing the effect of silica fume on the flexural behavior of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete by acoustic emission technique. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2022, 131: 104563

[43] Farhidzadeh A, Salamone S, Singla P. A probabilistic approach for damage identification and crack mode classification in reinforced concrete structures. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 2013, 24(14): 1722–1735

[44] Nguyen-Tat T, Ranaivomanana N, Balayssac J P. Characterization of damage in concrete beams under bending with Acoustic Emission Technique (AET). Construction and Building Materials, 2018, 187: 487–500

[45] Chen Y, Zhao Z. Correlation between shear induced asperity degradation and acoustic emission energy in single granite fracture. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2020, 235: 107184

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52108379), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (No. E2021210002), the Youth Top Talent Program, Education Department of Hebei Province (No. BJK2022047), Innovation Research Group Program of Natural Science, the Hebei Province (No. E2021210099), the Technology Development Project of Shuohuang Railway Development Co., Ltd. (No. GJNY-20-230), and the Innovation Research for the Postgraduates of Shijiazhuang Tiedao University (No. YC2023009).

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2024 Higher Education Press