Average Frequency – RA Value for Reinforced Concrete Beam Strengthened with Carbon Fibre Sheet

Abstract

Acoustic Emission (AE) is one of the tools that can be used to detect the crack and to classify the type of the crack of reinforced concrete (RC) structure. Dislocation or movement of the material inside the RC may release the transient elastic wave. In this situation, AE plays important role whereby it can be used to capture the transient elastic wave and convert it into AE parameters such as amplitude, count, rise time and duration. Certain parameter can be used directly to evaluate the crack behavior. But in certain cases, the AE parameter needs to add and calculate by using related formula in order to observe the behavior of the crack. Using analysis of average frequency and RA value, the crack can be classified into tensile or shear cracks. In this study, seven phases of increasing static load were used to observe the crack behavior. The beams were tested in two conditions. For the first condition, the beams were tested in original stated without strengthened with carbon fibre sheet (CFS) at the bottom of the beam or called as tension part of the beam. For the second condition, the beams were strengthened with CFS at the tension part of the beam. It was found that, beam wrapped with CFS enhanced the strength of the beams in term of maximum ultimate load. Based on the relationship between average frequency (AF) and RA value, the cracks of the beams can be classified.