Characterisation of fatigue damage in composites using an Acoustic Emission Parameter Correction Technique

In industrial applications of composite materials, accurate characterisation of damage is vital. Acoustic Emission (AE) can be utilised to achieve this, however, in large-scale complex geometry components, traditional AE approaches have limitations. In this study a large carbon fibre specimen was used to generate different damage mechanisms under fatigue loading. The Delta T Mapping technique was used to locate damage and signal features were corrected using the Parameter Correction Technique (PCT). A comparison between results obtained using traditional signal features and those obtained using PCT is given. The results are validated using C-scanning and computed tomography. Matrix cracking and delamination were successfully identified using the PCT approach and improved location accuracy was achieved.