Unifying acoustic emission and digital imaging observations of quasi-brittle fracture

Acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) were used to characterize the fracture process zone (FPZ) in Berea sandstone, a quasi-brittle material with a maximum grain size of 1 mm. The complementary techniques of AE and DIC provide information on (i) damage throughout the volume, including AE locations and relative energy, and (ii) detailed DIC measurements of opening displacements associated with the FPZ. Three types of...