Understanding Acoustic Emission Testing- Reading 1 Part B-A

16.7.10 Corrosion of Reinforcing Steel in Concrete
The deterioration of concrete due to corrosion of the reinforcing steel is a
major problem, which is usually detected only after extreme cracking has
already taken place. Weng et al. found that measurable levels of acoustic
emission occurred even during the corrosion of unstressed reinforced
concrete. They suggested that, at least in the laboratory, acoustic emission
monitoring would assist in characterizing corrosion damage. In subsequent
work, Dunn et al. developed a relationship between the observed damage
and the resulting acoustic emissions. Damage could be detected in its early
stages, and by a combination of total counts and amplitude measurements,
the nature of the corrosion damage could be determined.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang