Corrosion effects on flexural behaviour of EPS sandwich concrete panels: a study using acoustic emission technique

The experimental research utilized expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels sized at 1300 × 600 × 130 mm (length × width × thickness) and induced with corrosion via an impressed current method. Varied extents of corrosion were applied for 120, 240, 360, and 480 h, resulting in mass loss percentages of 6.67%, 8.41%, 10.76%, and 18.13% of reinforcement in different panels. The flexural testing along with acoustic emission (AE) monitoring were performed for evaluation of EPS panels. Results obtained defend the correlation of AE energy with the load energy in the EPS panels. The AE parameters of rise angle and average frequency assist in distinguishing between tensile and shear crack types. The energy released during tensile crack formation in EPS panels is minimal compared to that during shear crack formation. These findings are a basis for further AE investigations into EPS panels and developing AE sensor-based methods for identifying corrosion-induced degradation in EPS panels within structures.