Experimental Study on Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Modified Phosphogypsum at Different Loading Rates

Modified phosphogypsum (MPG) is a new type of solid waste, which could show unique mechanical properties in complex stress conditions. In this study, the effects of different loading rates (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 MPa/s) on the mechanical properties and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of modified phosphogypsum were systematically studied through uniaxial compression tests combined with AE technology. The results showed that (1) the peak strength and elastic modulus of MPG increased as a power function of the loading rate, while the peak strain gradually decreased. (2) The cumulative event count of AE decreased as a power function with an increasing loading rate. Compared to the lowest loading rate, the cumulative event count was reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude. (3) An increase in the loading rate resulted in greater large-scale macroscopic failure in MPG specimens, along with an increased proportion of low-frequency AE signals and tensile cracks. (4) The b-value of AE decreased with an increasing loading rate, suggesting that microcrack-dominated small-scale damage prevailed at low loading rates, whereas large-scale damage became more pronounced at high loading rates. The abrupt drop in the b-value served as a precursor signal for macroscopic failure. This study presents an innovative methodology combining variable loading rates with AE technology to investigate the mechanical response of MPG, and the findings reveal the influence of the loading rate on the mechanical properties and AE characteristics of MPG, providing a theoretical basis for its engineering application under different loading environments.