Use of piezoelectric as acoustic emission sensor for in situ monitoring of composite structures

In this paper, the influence of the integration of several sensors in composite structures is investigated. The plates and the structures in simple shapes, composed of laminated and sandwich materials, are considered. The mechanical behaviour, the acoustics activity and the location of damage sources in various structures with and without piezoelectric implant are compared. The analysis of results allowed a better identification of the influence of the impact of piezoelectric implant on the mechanical behaviour of different structures under different loads. Then, the analysis and the observation of Acoustic Emission (AE) signals led to the identification of the main acoustic signatures of different damage modes dominant in each type of composite materials (laminates and sandwich). Viewpoint comparison between integrated and non-integrated structures, acoustic activity is more significant in the case of integrated material. The location of the sources of damage has shown that acoustic events occurred far from the positions of integrated sensors.