Evaluation of the Behaviour of Steel Bar in the Concrete under Cyclic Loading Using Magnetic Flux Leakage and Acoustic Emission Techniques

Abstract

The behaviour of the steel bar in concrete under cyclic loading has been evaluated using magnetic flux leakage associated with acoustic emission monitoring technique. Visual observation was used to observe the deformation of the beam under cyclic loading. The sensors of metal magnetic memory were scanned in the middle of the beam at a distance of 320 mm at the bottom part. Twenty-two cyclic ranges were performed for cyclic loading of 100 or 200 cycles for each range, with a frequency of 1 Hz and a sinusoidal wave mode. The magnetic flux leakage signal, acoustic emission characteristics and crack width were measured and analysed to evaluate the behaviour of the steel bar in the concrete beam. The magnetic flux leakage signal and acoustic emission energy results were well matched with the occurrence of cracks at the centre of the beam. It was found that the relationship between the magnetic leakage flux signal and crack opening showed a strong correlation with R2 of 0.969. A high acoustic emission energy of 1300 nVs is observed at the centre of the beam. Based on the results, the behaviour of the steel in the concrete beam can be determined by the integrity assessment of a structure.