Assessment of a damage model for wound composite structures by acoustic emission

This paper deals with the link between the acoustic activity due to damage in wound composite structures and the simulated evolution of damage variables. A damage model able to accurately capture the different degradation modes which may occur in this type of material is first selected. A parallel is drawn between the continuous evolution of the damage variables and the discrete acoustic events. The mechanical behaviour of notched samples made of two different wound composite lay-ups and involving complex damage combinations are simulated and compared to acoustic emission. The satisfactory correlation confirms the physical meaning of the damage variables and validates the model assumptions. The association of experimental acoustic signals and a damage model is a tool to understand the degradation scenario of wound composite structures and the meaning of the recorded acoustic events.