Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Shear Failure of Rock-Filled Concrete Aggregate-Paste Interface under Various Freeze-Thaw Cycles

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2026.0252

Abstract

Abstract:

Under high-frequency freeze-thaw environment in cold regions， the large-scale interface （aggregate-paste interface） formed between rockfill and self-compacting concrete in rock-filled concrete （RFC） is more susceptible to freeze-thaw damage， and this damage directly affects the long-term performance of RFC structures. In this paper， the shear failure process of the aggregate-paste interface under different freeze-thaw cycles was monitored based on acoustic emission technology， the degradation law of interfacial shear strength was analyzed， the shear failure modes at different stages were clarified， and an interfacial damage model based on acoustic emission parameters was constructed. The results show that with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles， due to the alternating effect of sliding friction and static friction at the interface， the shear strength-shear displacement curve exhibits an up-and-down oscillation phenomenon after the secondary peak， and the shear displacement at which this phenomenon occurs is continuously increased； the peak shear strength， secondary peak shear strength， and residual shear strength of the aggregate-paste interface decrease to 0.72， 0.19， and 0.13 MPa， with reductions of 66.04%， 81.55%， and 86.32%， respectively； based on the cumulative ringing count， the shear failure process can be divided into four stages. With the increase of freeze-thaw cycles， the proportion of shear cracks in stages Ⅰ， Ⅱ， and Ⅲ decreases， while the proportion of shear cracks in stage Ⅳ increases from 66.9% to 78.7%. Under freeze-thaw action， the dominant failure mode of the aggregate-paste interface is shear failure， and the damage model constructed based on acoustic emission energy can well describe the interfacial damage evolution process. The research results can provide a theoretical reference for the long-term service performance evaluation of rock-filled concrete projects in cold regions.

Key words: rock-filled concrete, aggregate-paste interface, freeze-thaw cycle, shear performance, acoustic emission, damage model

CLC Number:

TV431

ZHANG Tianqi, WANG Anhai, ZHOU Zeyang, LUO Tao, LI Li, ZHANG Qi. Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Shear Failure of Rock-Filled Concrete Aggregate-Paste Interface under Various Freeze-Thaw Cycles[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2026, 45(9): 3092-3108.

Figures/Tables 24

References 36

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Workability	Slump/mm	Slump flow/mm	V funnel transit time/s	Air mass fraction/%
Standard	260~280	650~750	7~25	3~4
Test result	265	690	10.5	3.3

Workability	Slump/mm	Slump flow/mm	V funnel transit time/s	Air mass fraction/%
Standard	260~280	650~750	7~25	3~4
Test result	265	690	10.5	3.3

Freeze-thaw cycles	I			P			P_S			T
Freeze-thaw cycles	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value
0	1.37	—	0.003	2.00	—	0.003	2.05	—	0.003	2.71	—	0.044
10	0.85	-37.96		1.58	-21.00		1.64	-20.00		2.95	10.70
20	0.49	-64.23		1.19	-40.50		1.23	-40.00		2.73	12.92
30	0.16	-88.32		0.69	-65.50		0.75	-63.41		3.04	15.87
40	0.10	-92.70		0.62	-69.00		0.71	-65.37		3.07	14.39
50	0.05	-96.35		0.51	-74.50		0.64	-68.78		3.11	14.76

Freeze-thaw cycles	I			P			P_S			T
Freeze-thaw cycles	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value	Shear displacement	Change rate/%	p value
0	1.37	—	0.003	2.00	—	0.003	2.05	—	0.003	2.71	—	0.044
10	0.85	-37.96		1.58	-21.00		1.64	-20.00		2.95	10.70
20	0.49	-64.23		1.19	-40.50		1.23	-40.00		2.73	12.92
30	0.16	-88.32		0.69	-65.50		0.75	-63.41		3.04	15.87
40	0.10	-92.70		0.62	-69.00		0.71	-65.37		3.07	14.39
50	0.05	-96.35		0.51	-74.50		0.64	-68.78		3.11	14.76

Freeze-thaw cycles	Change rate of peak shear strength/%	Change rate of secondary peak shear strength/%	Change rate of residual shear strength/%
0	0	0	0
10	-36.32	-60.19	-67.37
20	-45.75	-66.02	-71.58
30	-57.55	-69.90	-73.68
40	-61.79	-73.79	-80.00
50	-66.04	-81.55	-86.32