Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Acoustic Emission Data Analysis of Compression after Impact Tests for Composite Materials

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2-2025

Abstract

This work presents an investigation of acoustic emission (AE) behavior during compression-after-impact (CAI) tests on thermoplastic composites subjected to different impact energy levels. AE sensing is employed to detect and evaluate damage that may not be immediately visible. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, existing literature provides limited insight into CAI performance of thermoplastic composites, especially under relatively high impact conditions, an important gap given the rising use of thermoplastics in advanced air mobility applications. The primary objective is to analyze AE signals recorded during CAI tests and characterize their features across various impact energies, with the longer-term goal of enabling applications in advanced methods such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. For each test, results include time-dependent signal density, peak frequencies, and amplitudes, along with cumulative signal strength (CSS) to track the progression of damage at each impact level. The discussion further explores correlations between AE features and includes metrics like peak frequency density to highlight the relative influence of different features and link specific frequency ranges to distinct failure modes. Additionally, optical microscopy revealed four main failure mechanisms: matrix cracking, delamination, debonding between fiber and matrix, and fiber breakage.

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Publication Title

Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation

DOI

10.1007/s10921-025-01291-w

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