some experiments using special mortar specimen are carried out. The whole process of initiation
cracking
growth and fracture of cracks is analyzed by using acoustic emission (AE) technique. Experimental results show that the AE properties of tensile fractures are different under loading types. The AE properties of crack propagation process under bending action contain four stages: gradual increase
quick increase
sudden increase and gradual decrease of AE numbers. But those under splitting load
it contains three stages: slow increase
sudden increase and stable increase of AE numbers. The AE characters of crack initiation and coalescences under bending are obvious
but not clear under splitting load. It deserved to further study the AE properties under different loading conditions.