Acoustic emission method as a tool for the assessment of influence of the temperature variation on destructive processes created in early age concrete

Abstract

During the early age concrete treatment (curing and hardening) the damage process appears i.e., microcracks in the cement paste, propagation of internal microcracks, and formation of microcracks on the surface of concrete that affect concrete. It can be the serious source that initiate cracks that will propagate in the further loading stage, thereby affecting the overall strength and durability of structures. Hence, it is quite important to have a tool to identify the damage processes created up during the early age concrete treatment. The Identification of Active Damage Processes (IADP) acoustic emission method, modified to suit the tests on non-loaded concrete, was applied to determine and locate the damage processes that appears during the hardening conditions taking into account the temperature fluctuations on which construction structures are exposed (constant temperature of 22ºC or cyclic temperature variations in the range -5ºC/+42ºC) in non-loaded concrete produced with basalt aggregate and blast furnace cement. It is shown that the modified IADP method, can be used to assess the influence of the temperature variation on damage process in early age non-loaded concrete. As an example, concrete produced with basalt aggregate and blast furnace cement was used.