AE monitoring of corrosion process in cyclic wet–dry test

Recently, a number of deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to salt attack have been reported. After corrosion of reinforcing steel-bar (rebar) is nucleated, expansion of corrosion products results in corrosion-induced cracks in RC. Thus, development of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques is important for inspection of corrosion damage. It is reported that acoustic emission (AE) could identify the onset of corrosion in rebar and the nucleation of concrete cracking due to expansion of corrosion products in the corrosion process. In this study, AE techniques are applied to a cyclic wet–dry test of RC beams. It is confirmed that both the onset of corrosion and the nucleation of concrete cracking are clearly observed as two periods of high AE activity. Kinematics of micro-cracks are identified by SiGMA (Simplified Green’s functions for moment tensor analysis) analysis of AE. To compare with findings, cross-sections of rebars are observed by SEM (Scanning Electron Micrograph). From these results, a great promise for AE techniques to monitor the corrosion process in RC structures is clarified.