Evaluation of rock mass damage using acoustic emission technique in the laboratory

The damage of the rock is associated with the growth of microcracks and brittle fracturing, and the analysis of acoustic emission (AE) signals is well suited to study this phenomenon. In this paper, potential use of AE and the Kaiser effect in detecting and assessing the amount of rock damages has been investigated in the laboratory study using Gosford sandstone under uniaxial cyclic and triaxial loading conditions. The influence of time, stress state on the Kaiser effect has also been investigated. The experimental results show that Kaiser effect occurred reliably, and that rock damage behaviour can be assessed with a new suggested parameter described here in. Damage evaluation under triaxially reloaded rock has also been assessed and reported.