Damage assessed by wavelet scale bands and b-value in dynamical tests of a reinforced concrete slab monitored with acoustic emission

• The Continuous Wavelet Transform was applied to acoustic emission signals from dynamic tests conducted on a reinforced concrete slab with a shaking table.
• The Cumulative Acoustic Emission Energy was compared with the Cumulative Dissipated Energy of the tested structure.
• The (45–64 kHz) frequency band was assigned to cracking of concrete through the evolution of maximum values of CWT coefficients.
• The evolution of the b-value in the successive seismic simulations revealed the inception of loss of bond between reinforcing steel and surrounding concrete.

The complex Morlet Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) was applied to acoustic emission (AE) signals from dynamic tests conducted on a reinforced concrete slab with a shaking table. The steel reinforcement bars did not yield during the tests, but a severe loss of bond between reinforcement bars and surrounding concrete was detected. Comparison of the evolution of the scale position of maximum values of CWT coefficients and the histories of response acceleration obtained in different seismic simulations allowed us to identify the (45–64 kHz) frequency band corresponding to the fracture of concrete. The Cumulative Acoustic Emission Energy (CAE) obtained by reconstructing the AE signals in this scale (frequency) band was compared with the Cumulative Dissipated Energy (CDE) of the tested structure. The CDE is accepted as a good parameter for characterizing the mechanical damage in structures. A reasonably good agreement was found between the normalized histories of CAE and CDE. This made it possible to categorize the cracking of concrete as the main source of damage in the reinforced concrete slab. Conversely, the differences between the CAE and CDE curves observed for high levels of peak acceleration applied to the shaking table can be attributed to the deformation of the steel that formed the columns. The AE coming from the plastic deformation of the steel is not detected by CAE due to the threshold amplitude (45 dB) used in the AE monitoring, but the strain energy dissipated by the steel through plastic deformations is included in the CDE. Further, a study of the evolution of the b-value in the successive seismic simulations revealed that the b-value can capture the inception of severe cracking in the concrete, which the tests described in this study attributed mainly to the loss of bond between reinforcing steel and surrounding concrete.