Monitoring acoustic emission in a PRSEUS fuselage panel under combined loading

A. Khanolkar, A. Bergan, D. Ozevin, J. O. Awerbuch, T. M. Tan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

A test program was recently conducted to evaluate the damage-containment capability of a full-scale Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) carbon/epoxy fuselage panel. The tests were conducted at the Full-Scale Airframe Structural Test Evaluation and Research (FASTER) facility, located at the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center, in partnership with NASA Langley Research Center and Boeing Research and Technology. The test section of the fuselage-like PRSEUS panel contained a two-bay through-the-thickness notch, severing the central stringer, and was subjected to combined internal pressure and axial tensile loading. Notch tip damage initiation and progression were monitored visually (via interior and exterior cameras). Detailed post-test non-destructive and destructive examinations of the extent of damage were conducted. As part of this test program, the acoustic emission (AE) technique was used to detect and locate notch tip damage initiation and accumulation, with particular attention to tracking damage progression during loading. Detailed post-test AE data analyses were conducted to characterize the AE signals recorded during loading. Special attention was given to distinguishing between the emission generated by damage growth at the notch tip and the voluminous emission generated by macro and micro damages throughout the AE gage section, including delamination, disbonding, matrix cracking, stitch failures, and the corresponding fretting among the numerous newly formed fracture surfaces as well as extraneous emission from the loading mechanisms. The results also indicated that AE was able to detect damage initiation at early stages of loading, locate the notch tip damage site, and monitor and track damage progression. AE data analyses indicated that the high intensity events, located by at least five sensors, provide the best agreement between AE results and the visually measured extent of notch tip damage.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication27th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2012, Held Jointly with 15th Joint US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials and ASTM-D30 Meeting
Pages1878-1897
Number of pages20
StatePublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event27th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2012, Held Jointly with 15th Joint US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials and ASTM-D30 Meeting - Arlington, TX, United States
Duration: Oct 1 2012Oct 3 2012

Publication series

Name27th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2012, Held Jointly with 15th Joint US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials and ASTM-D30 Meeting

Conference

Conference27th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2012, Held Jointly with 15th Joint US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials and ASTM-D30 Meeting
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityArlington, TX
Period10/1/1210/3/12

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