Avalanche in composite materials: concrete and its components under the influence of mix proportion

As a composite porous material, the physical failure process of concrete has nonlinear characteristics. This can be explained by the avalanche in physics. The avalanche characteristics of ordinary concrete and its constituent materials under the influence of mix proportion were explored based on acoustic emission (AE). The results show that the avalanche characteristics and corresponding exponent values of concrete are between those of cement mortar and limestone. The energy distribution of limestone shows a pure power law distribution, while the energy distribution of cement mortar and concrete shows a power law distribution with damping. This depends on the status of the two physical mechanisms of bond breaking and friction during the failure process of the three materials. The avalanche characteristics of concrete are not significantly affected by the mix proportion, but rather depend more on the avalanche characteristics of the constituent materials that are the main sources of failure. • The relationship between the avalanche characteristics of concrete and its constituent materials failure has been established. • The energy distribution of concrete exhibits a power law distribution with damping, reflecting that friction is the main physical mechanism during its failure process. • The avalanche characteristics of concrete are not significantly affected by the mix proportion, but rather depend more on the avalanche characteristics of the constituent materials that are the main sources of failure.