Crack localization in a double-punched concrete cuboid with time reverse modeling of acoustic emissions

Time reverse modeling (TRM) is successfully applied to localize acoustic emissions (AE) obtained from a physical experiment (double punch test) on a 118 × 120 × 160 mm concrete cuboid. Previously, feasibility studies using numerical (Ricker wavelet) and experimental (pencil-lead break) excitations are performed to demonstrate the applicability of TRM to real AE waveforms. Numerical simulations are performed assuming an uncracked and heterogeneous concrete model. The localization results from the numerical and experimental feasibility studies are compared and verified. The AE recorded during the double punch test are localized in a three-dimensional domain using TRM. The localization results are superposed with the three-dimensional threshold-segmented crack patterns obtained from X-ray computed tomography scans of the failed concrete cuboid. The presented TRM approach represents a reliable localization tool for signal-based AE analysis.