Application of different acoustic emission descriptors in damage assessment of fiber reinforced plastics: A comprehensive review

The review emphasis on the innovative methods of utilizing the Acoustic Emission (AE) parameters in characterizing Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRPs). This review is structured into different sections based on different AE descriptors used in characterizing FRPs. This work summarizes all the acoustic parameters, their advantages, limitation and applications in the damage characterization of FRPs. The first section focuses on the peak amplitude/frequency and their limitations in characterizing damage modes. Followed by the cumulative acoustic energy: the novel and innovative methods in utilizing cumulative acoustic energy for damage characterization and crack propagation in FRPs. Emphasis on acoustic counts and acoustic events: some of the novel methods developed in utilizing the acoustic counts, follows this section. The clustering of AE data and its advantages in effective damage characterization is discussed. Finally, the list of other popular and unpopular AE descriptors and the reason for their limited usage in the FRPs is discussed.