ACOUSTIC EMISSION MONITORING AND QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF DAMAGE IN CONCRETE BEAMS UNDER CREEP

International audienceDespite the large number of studies, the mechanisms involved during creep of concrete are still not well known and particularly tensile creep which is a major issue especially in the case of special concrete structures. The objective of this study is to suggest an assessment of the damage mechanisms occurring during the different phases of creep. To achieve this, an experimental investigation is proposed on mortar and concrete beams loaded with flexural creep at high stress levels. Damage evolution under desiccation creep tests is assessed by using the acoustic emission technique. The results show a good proportionality between creep displacement and the acoustic emission activity and thus the efficiency of acoustic measurements for the estimation of the damage evolution. In addition, the results show the importance of aggregates in the fracture behaviour under desiccation creep