Acoustic emission monitoring of the fracture behavior of mortar specimens fabricated using recycled concrete aggregates

This study aims in examining the fracture behavior of recycled mortar specimens using the acoustic emission technique. To produce the recycled mortar beams, a portion of fine recycled concrete aggregates has been used, and the specimens were tested in three-point bending. This work led to a comparison between the fracture behavior of recycled mortar specimens with steel fiber-reinforced and baseline mortars fabricated with 100% natural sand. The results indicate that the use of recycled aggregates in mortars can be successfully characterized by acoustic emission parameters. This approach offers a reliable evaluation of the fracture mechanism making acoustic emission a valuable nondestructive evaluation tool in the growing sector of recycled building materials.