Damage monitoring of masonry structure under in-situ uniaxial compression test using acoustic emission parameters

Structural health monitoring of masonry structures is an ongoing engineering challenge. An innovative method for establishing a database corresponding to the parameter characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) signals and the damage information was proposed. Therefore, it is necessary and important to study the AE parameter characteristics of masonry structures. In this study, the in-situ uniaxial compression test with the AE monitoring for masonry specimen was performed. The damage evolution of masonry was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by the characteristics of several typical AE parameters. Results indicated that the variation characteristics of AE ringing counts and peak frequency were more consistent with the final brittle failure of masonry specimen. Furthermore, the relationship between AE cumulative events and stress level of masonry material was studied. A linear relationship between AE cumulative events and damage variable was established to assess damage degree of masonry quantitatively. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.