Acoustic Emission from a Porcelain Body during Cooling

Quartz grains in porcelain bodies cause cracking. Under the present conditions, acoustic emission (AE) has shown that the cracking occurred in a temperature range of 900°–800°C during cooling from firing at a temperature of 1200°C. This cracking can be explained by a large thermal expansion mismatch that was due to the negative thermal expansion of quartz at temperatures >1000°C and no stress relaxation of the glass phase. At a temperature of 573°C, which is the transition temperature of quartz, AE was not detected by the measuring system that was used, although there were many peripheral cracks around the large quartz grains. The energy release rate of the peripheral cracks at a temperature of 573°C was too low to be detected by the equipment that was used.     

Experimental characterization of the self-healing of cracks in an ultra high performance cementitious material: Mechanical tests and acoustic emission analysis

Self-healing of cracks in an ultra high performance concrete, considered as a model material, is investigated in this paper. An experimental program is carried out in order to quantify the phenomenon, which has been mainly highlighted by means of water permeability tests until now. Mechanical behaviour of self-healed concrete under three points bending, and acoustic emission analysis of the cracking mechanisms are reported. The mechanical tests demonstrate a recovery of the global stiffness, depending on the time of healing, for specimens initially cracked and then self-healed, and a slow improvement of structural strength. The acoustic emission (AE) analysis is performed in order to show that the mechanical response is due to new crystals precipitating in the crack. The microcracking of these products during three points bending tests is highlighted and an energy analysis provides insights about the cracking process of healed concrete, including damage of the newly formed crystals and continuation of the crack propagation.     

Interpreting acoustic energy emission in SiC/SiC minicomposites through modeling of fracture surface areas

The relationship between acoustic emission (AE) and damage source areas in SiC/SiC minicomposites was modeled using insights from tensile testing in-scanning electron microscope (SEM). Damage up to matrix crack saturation was bounded by: (1) AE generated by matrix cracking (lower bound) and (2) AE generated by matrix cracking, and fiber debonding and sliding in crack wakes (upper bound). While fiber debonding and sliding exhibit lower strain energy release rates than matrix cracking and fiber breakage, they contribute significant damage area and likely produce AE. Fiber breaks beyond matrix crack saturation were modeled by two conditions: (i) only fiber breaks generated AE; and (ii) fiber breaks occurred simultaneously with fiber sliding to generate AE. While fiber breaks are considered the dominant late-stage mechanism, our modeling indicates that other mechanisms are active, a finding that is supported by experimental in-SEM observations of matrix cracking in conjunction with fiber failure at rupture.     

The role of specimen geometry and boundary conditions on stress development and cracking in the restrained ring test

Early-age cracking can be a significant problem in concrete pavements, floors, and bridge decks. Various test methods have been developed to assess the potential for early-age cracking, however due to the economy and simplicity of the ring test, it has become widely used. Although the ring test procedures employed by various authors are similar, they vary in terms of curing duration, specimen geometry, and boundary conditions. This paper describes an experimental study of restrained ring specimens tested using different geometries and boundary conditions. Specimen geometry was found to have a significant effect on the stress development and age of cracking in the restrained ring specimens. Specimens that shrink uniformly along the radius show the greatest variation in the age of cracking with thicker specimens cracking at a later age. Acoustic emission testing has been used to illustrate that specimen boundary condition substantially influence crack development and propagation in the restrained rings.     

Acoustic emission during fracture of short glass fiber reinforced poly(vinyl chloride)

The fracture mechanics approach and acoustic emission (AE) analysis have been coupled in an investigation of slow crack growth of short fiber reinforced poly(vinyl chloride). It was found that AE occurs during less than one percent of the time of crack growth suggesting that so-called continuous crack propagation is based on discontinuous microscopic damage. The time dependence of various AE parameters exhibits a good linear relationship with crack speed. For a unit of newly created fracture surface, a constant amount of acoustic energy is released independent of crack speed. At very low speeds, below 3·10⁻³ mm/s, a change in mechanism from pure matrix related to fiber related crack growth is observed, which is also reflected by a change in the amplitude distribution of the AE events.     

The influence of curing on restrained shrinkage cracking of bonded concrete overlays

The influence of seven practical curing regimes on restrained shrinkage cracking of bonded concrete overlays was investigated. The influence of the curing regimes on the individual material properties governing restrained shrinkage cracking and on the age at cracking and crack area of ring tests and composite overlay–substrate specimens was investigated for three laboratory-made mixes of differing strengths and one commercial repair mortar. The results of the experimental testing showed that curing influences all of the material properties governing restrained shrinkage cracking. Prolonged or more effective curing was shown to either delay or reduce the rate of shrinkage respectively (dependent on the curing method), increase the tensile strength and elastic modulus, and decrease the tensile relaxation. In general, prolonged or more effective curing was shown to have a positive influence on restrained shrinkage cracking by increasing the age and net age at cracking.     

Microscale characterization of damage accumulation in CMCs

The developing roles of damage mechanisms in the failure response of SiC/SiC minicomposites was investigated by the characterization of microscale damage accumulation with respect to microstructure. A multi-modal approach combining spatially resolved acoustic emission (AE) with tensile testing in-SEM (scanning electron microscope) was used to simultaneously examine surface (observed in-SEM) and bulk damage (monitored via AE). Strong agreement was shown between the evolving crack density estimated by AE and in-SEM measurements. The following were observed: (i) in-plane matrix content and distribution impacted crack growth; (ii) spatially-distributed matrix cracks generated varying stress-dependent AE; and (iii) certain individual cracks became more probable failure locations due to unique combinations of damage mechanisms that drove their growth. This approach enabled characterizing potential failure determinants and suggests that early damage behavior is related to certain microstructural features (e.g. surface flaws), while subsequent damage behavior is coupled to interactions of local mechanisms evolving with stress.     

Interfacial properties of glass fiber/brittle-ductile dual-matrix composites using micromechanical techniques and acoustic emission

The interfacial adhesion and microfailure modes of glass fiber-reinforced brittle unsaturated polyester/modified epoxy composites were investigated via micromechanical techniques and acoustic emission (AE). Various silane coupling agents caused different degrees of interfacial adhesion and subsequent microfailure modes. In the brittle matrix layer, the number of matrix fragments was significantly influenced by the type of silance coupling agents. The more cracks, the higher the interfacial adhesion under both dry and wet conditions. This is attributed to the chemical and hydrogen bondings in two interphases. The results obtained from microdroplet and fragmentation tests were correlated by associating with the AE technique. The sequential occurrence of mainly three groups of AE were as follows: the first group originated mainly from brittle matrix cracking. The second and the third groups resulted in fiber breakage and ductile matrix cracking and debonding. For dual-matrix specimens the micromechanical tests provide reliable information with regard to the interfacial adhesion and characterize the microfailure modes when combined with the AE technique.     

A thermal active restrained shrinkage ring test to study the early age concrete behaviour of massive structures

In massive concrete structures, cracking may occur during hardening, especially if autogenous and thermal strains are restrained. The concrete permeability due to this cracking may rise significantly and thus increase leakage (in tank, nuclear containment…) and reduce the durability.The restrained shrinkage ring test is used to study the early age concrete behaviour (delayed strains evolution and cracking). This test shows, at 20 °C and without drying, for a concrete mix which is representative of a French nuclear power plant containment vessel (w/c ratio equal to 0.57), that the amplitude of autogenous shrinkage (about 40 μm/m for the studied concrete mix) is not high enough to cause cracking. Indeed, in this configuration, thermal shrinkage is not significant, whereas this is a major concern for massive structures.Therefore, an active test has been developed to study cracking due to restrained thermal shrinkage. This test is an evolution of the classical restrained shrinkage ring test. It allows to take into account both autogenous and thermal shrinkages. Its principle is to create the thermal strain effects by increasing the temperature of the brass ring (by a fluid circulation) in order to expand it. With this test, the early age cracking due to restrained shrinkage, the influence of reinforcement and construction joints have been experimentally studied. It shows that, as expected, reinforcement leads to an increase of the number of cracks but a decrease of crack widths. Moreover, cracking occurs preferentially at the construction joint.     

Correlation between failure mechanism and rupture lifetime of 2D-C/SiC under stress oxidation condition based on acoustic emission pattern recognition

Creep tests of 2D-C/SiC in a wet oxidizing atmosphere were implemented for six samples. The loading process was monitored by acoustic emission (AE). Principal component analysis and a fuzzy clustering algorithm were used to perform pattern recognition of the AE data. All of the AE events were divided into four clusters and labelled as matrix cracking, interfacial damage, fiber breakage and fiber-bundle breakage respectively, according to their physical origin. It was found C/SiC has very scattered rupture lifetimes even under the same test conditions, and the evolution of AE events corresponding to fiber failure is quite different. With increasing rupture lifetime, the AE energy of fiber-bundle breakage is higher, while the number of these events is less. Thus, it is concluded that local oxidation and damage development is the controlling failure mechanism for short-lived specimens and uniform oxidation and damage development is the controlling failure mechanism for long-lived specimens.     

Crack Growth and Acoustic Emission in Ceramics During Thermal Shock

It is recognized that microcracks may contribute to failure of ceramics undergoing thermal shock, although there is little direct experimental evidence. The combination of acoustic emission (AE) and SEM observations provides such evidence. In this work AE data were analyzed after rapid quenching of samples in silicone oil. A thermal shock resistant material, alumina, and a material resistant to thermal damage, advanced zirconia refractory, have been examined. Cracks were detected by analysis of AE amplitudes and durations and their growth was monitored by systematic SEM observations as thermal shocks of increasing severity were applied. Three-point bending strengths were determined in air after quenching. For the first time SEM images are presented showing early stages of crack initiation for temperature differences less than Δ T_crit , i.e., where the fracture was not believed to occur. Further development of the cracks leads to abrupt strength reduction in alumina and controlled strength loss in zirconia, although AE data did not indicate any particular pattern of catastrophic crack propagation when substantial loss of strength occurred.     

A preliminary SEM study of crack propagation in mortar

A device constructed to permit the testing of wedge-loaded compact tension specimens of mortar within the sample chamber of an SEM is described. Using this device, the process of cracking was observed in mortar specimens. It was found that the process of crack extension in mortars is very complicated: the crack is tortuous, there is some branch cracking, discontinuities in the cracks are observed, and there is some tearing away of small bits of material in some areas of cracking. The results suggest that the simple fracture mechanics models oversimplify the geometric features of the crack extension process.     

Combining in-situ synchrotron X-ray microtomography and acoustic emission to characterize damage evolution in ceramic matrix composites

In-situ synchrotron X-ray microtomography and acoustic emission (AE) were combined to study the behavior of ceramic matrix composite laminates subjected to in-plane tensile or flexural loading at room temperature. A detailed characterization of the initiation and progression of two key damage modes (matrix cracking and fiber breaks) is obtained from microtomography, and the relationship between damage and AE is directly observed. A graphical representation of AE data, which has potential for real-time use, is employed to reveal differences in damage progression due to fiber architecture or loading mode. In addition, strong empirical relationships are observed between matrix crack area and AE energy, as well as between fiber breaks and number of AE events.     

Damage and failure analysis of a SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composite using digital image correlation and acoustic emission

The analysis of failure behaviors of continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) requires the characterization of the damage evolution process. In service environments, CMCs exhibit complex damage mechanisms and failure modes, which are affected by constituent materials, meso architecture, inherent defects, and loading conditions. In this paper, the in-plane tensile mechanical behavior of a plain woven SiC_f/SiC CMC was investigated, and damage evolution and failure process were studied in detail by digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) methods. The results show that: the initiation of macro-matrix cracks have obvious local characteristic, and the propagation paths are periodically distributed on the material surface; different damage modes (matrix cracking and fiber fracture) would affect the AE energy signal and can be observed in real-time; the significant increase of AE accumulated energy indicates that serious damage occurs inside the material, and the macroscopic mechanical behavior exhibits nonlinear characteristic, which corresponds to the proportional limit stress (PLS) of the material.     

Fracture characterization of C/C composites under various stress modes by monitoring both mechanical and acoustic responses

C/C composites with different porosities, produced by chemical vapor infiltration have been mechanically tested under quasi-static loading in bending modes using uniform and notched specimens. The acoustic emission (AE) method was used to monitor the damage accumulation profile during loading up to fracture, supported by optical and scanning electron microscope characterization. Three stages in the damage buildup up to fracture were observed: Stage I, with no AE activity, Stage II, gradual growth in AE counts up to an abrupt jump and Stage III, sharp increases in AE counts. Moreover, the similarity in the profile between the cumulative AE counts vs. strain data and the predicted crack density vs. strain by the micro mechanical model suggested for interlaminar cracking, indicates the importance of AE in monitoring the damage evolution in composites in terms of AE counts. Fast Fourier transform analysis of the AE waves revealed three characteristic frequencies in Stage III, which is a sign of three main micro-mechanisms of failure which control the failure progress: fiber fracture, debonding and matrix cracking seem to be the active mechanisms.     

Acoustic Emission in the Fracture of Glass Plates

The ring-down counting method was used to measure acoustic emission (AE) during the subcritical cracking of float-glass plates. It was found that AE emanated primarily from surface flaws and that a flaw =4 μm deep was capable of producing one AE count. The dependence of AE count rate on experimental parameters such as system gain and specimen size was determined and the use of AE simulators for calibrating AE systems was examined. The results were used to show how data on different ceramic materials might be compared.     

The acoustic emission analysis of the crack processes in alumina

The crack processes in single-phase alumina specimens have been investigated by acoustic emission (AE) analysis with regard to the increase of the crack resistance. During loading of a notched specimen, individual AE signals are observed at first, which are probably due to the generation of microcracks in a process zone around the notch. At higher loads signal clusters are found, which should be due to the coalescence of microcracks. By these coalescence events the main crack is formed. At macroscopic crack propagation most AE events are located within the crack tip zone. However, up to about 20% of all events are located within the crack flank zone behind the crack tip. Thus, it can be concluded that there is an energy dissipation at the crack tip at beginning of the loading, which determines the starting value of the crack resistance. At macroscopic crack propagation crack flank interactions contribute to the increase of crack resistance, too. However, it cannot be decided from AE if the contribution of the process zone at the crack tip or of the crack flanks in the wake of the crack tip play the major role in increasing the crack resistance.     

Flaws Responsible for Slow Cracking in the Delayed Fracture of Alumina

The early stages of crack extension from inherent flaws were observed directly in order to identify flaws responsible for crack initiation. The specimen surface was immersed in fluorescent dye penetrant while cracks were forming; this procedure allowed the dye to penetrate into the fine cracks. Once the cracking sites were located, scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the flaws. An eccentrically loaded column testing system was used to produce a number of crack initiations on a surface of a specimen without causing catastrophic failure of the specimen. There were many inherent flaws which, either by themselves or as an assembly, became potential crack origins. The initial stage of delayed fracture was shown to involve the interaction and coalescence of nearby flaws with intergranular cracking. It was also found that the crack origins were multiple in delayed fracture.     

Contact damage tolerance of alumina-based layered ceramics with tailored microstructures

This work demonstrates how to enhance contact damage resistance of alumina-based ceramics combining tailored microstructures in a multilayer architecture. The multilayer system designed with textured alumina layers under compressive residual stresses embedded between alumina–zirconia layers was investigated under Hertzian contact loading and compared to the corresponding monolithic reference materials. Critical forces for crack initiation under spherical contact were detected through an acoustic emission system. Damage was assessed by combining cross-section polishing and ion-slicing techniques. It was found that a textured microstructure can accommodate the damage below the surface by shear-driven, quasi-plastic deformation instead of the classical Hertzian cone cracking observed in equiaxed alumina. In the multilayer system, a combination of both mechanisms, namely Hertzian cone cracking on the top (equiaxed) surface layer and quasi-plastic deformation within the embedded textured layer, was identified. Further propagation of cone cracks at higher loads was hindered and/or deflected owed to the combined action of the textured microstructure and compressive residual stresses. These findings demonstrate the potential of embedding textured layers as a strategy to enhance the contact damage tolerance in alumina ceramics.