The temperature- and density-dependent acoustic emission response of snow in monoaxial compression tests

Abstract

Abstract Results of acoustic emission tests on cylindrical specimens under compression are reported. Deformation-rate-controlled tests with strain rates ranging from 1.1 × 10 -6 s -1 to 2.6 × 10 -3 s -1 at temperatures between T = -11.2°Cand T = -1.7°C were performed. The investigated snow was fine-grained, with a density varying between 220 and 380 kgm -3 . The acoustic emission was measured with two distinct piezoelectric sensors: a wide-band sensor (frequency 100–1000 kHz) and a resonant sensor (frequency 35–100 kHz). The relationship between the applied strain rate and the measured maximum acoustic-emission rate as a function of temperature and density was found to obey a power law, which is valid for the ductile behaviour range. The quantitative and qualitative effects produced on the acoustic emissions during the transition from ductile to brittle behaviour, occurring at strain rates of approximately 1 × 10 -3 s -1 , are reported. Finally, the influence of the load history on the acoustic emissions of snow is discussed on the basis of a cyclic test, including deformation-controlled loading steps and relaxation steps, performed at different strain rates and different relaxation times.