Failure behavior monitoring and evaluation of steel-confined reinforced concrete columns by acoustic emission under quasi-static loading

Abstract The mechanical behavior and failure evolution of steel-confined and unconfined reinforced concrete (RC) columns are investigated under quasi-static loading through acoustic emission (AE) signal. The excellent hysteresis response, lighter damage characteristics and delayed catastrophe of steel-confined RC columns are verified. Characteristic AE parameters were obtained during the test process, AE monitoring results indicated that the progressive deformation of the test specimens occurred in three stages representing different damage conditions. Extended AE features, including damage se...