Diagnostics of prestressed concrete structures by means of acoustic emission

Development of the framework of diagnosis system for prestressed concrete structures was the purpose of the performed research. The evaluation criteria are based on the destructive processes ongoing in material. The method of acoustic emission (AE) was used as the basic testing technique. The following conclusion can be drawn from the performed observation: AE depends on the level of destruction process, but not on the level of loading. Evaluation of technical condition of structure based on randomly selected sections may lead to incorrect results because of possible localization of deterioration.