Universal Log-Periodic Correction to Renormalization Group Scaling for Rupture Stress Prediction From Acoustic Emissions

Based on the idea that the rupture of heterogenous systems is similar to a critical point, we show how to predict the failure stress with good reliability and precision (≈5%) from acoustic emission measurements at constant stress rate up to a maximum load 15-20% below the failure stress. The basis of our approach is to fit the experimental signals to a mathematical expression deduced from a new scaling theory for rupture in terms of complex fractal exponents. The method is tested successfully on an industrial application, namely high pressure spherical tanks made of various fiber-matrix composites. As a by-product, our results constitute the first observation in a natural context of the universal periodic corrections to scaling in the renormalization-group framework. Our method could be applied usefully to other similar predicting problems in the natural sciences (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.).