Experimental wavelet analysis of acoustic emission signal propagation in CFRP

In this research work, the characteristics of acoustic wave propagation were studied for different Carbon Fiber/Epoxy laminated composites (CFRP). Piezoelectric transducers were used to simulate the acoustic wave propagation through the materials and the possible effects of ply number, fiber orientation and the material thickness of the CFRP on the propagation of acoustic signals were studied. The relative loss of the Acoustic Emission (AE) signals has been parameterized in terms of variations in the peak amplitude, acoustic energy and duration of the recorded acoustic signals. The effect of the material properties on the relative loss in AE descriptors has been assessed. Waveform analysis was performed for the simulated and received acoustic signals to identify changes in amplitude and waveform. Wavelet analysis for the recorded acoustic waveforms were performed by the Continuous Wavelet Transform. The effect of material properties on the propagation of the acoustic signal was characterized through AE descriptors, Waveform and Wavelet Analysis.