Damage evaluation for high temperature CFRP components using acoustic emission monitoring

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring can provide confidence in the reliability of a structure or component, thereby reducing unnecessary maintenance and inspection. Due to the brittle nature of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) failure and critical applications, it is crucial to develop a real-time monitoring technique that is able to assess structural integrity of these components. Comparable assessment criteria for the evaluation of structural integrity are needed as a part of AE monitoring system. Based on Austin and Coughlin criteria, numbers of high amplitude AE hits/events, historic index, AE cumulative energy, and severity were utilized to evaluate structural damage through a numerical rating. AE signals associated with structural damage were collected through ramp-up loading and low-cycle fatigue tests. A combination of source location filtering, waveform feature analysis and pattern recognition was used to filter acquired AE signals. The effect of prescribed signal period on the Austin and Coug...