Acoustic Emission Technique, an Overview as a Characterization Tool in Materials Science

In order to predict the mechanical behavior of a composite during its service life, it is important to evaluate its mechanical response under different types of external stresses by studying the initiation and development of cracks and the effects induced by damage and degradation. The onset of damage is related to the structural integrity of the component and its fatigue life. For this, among other reasons, non-destructive techniques such as acoustic emission (AE) have been widely used nowadays for composite materials characterization. This method has demonstrated excellent results on detecting and identifying initiations sites, cracking propagation and fracture mechanisms of polymer matrix composite and ceramic materials. This paper focuses on commenting the importance of the acoustic emission technique as a unique tool for characterizing mechanical parameters in response to external stresses and degradation processes by reviewing previous investigations carried out by the author as participant. Acoustic emission was employed to monitor the micro-failure mechanisms in composites in relation to the stress level in real-time during the tests carried out. Some results obtained from different analysis are discussed to support the significance of using AE, technique that will be increasingly employed in the composite materials field due to its several alternatives for understanding the mechanical behavior; therefore, the objective of this manuscript is to involve the benefits and advantages of AE in the characterization of materials.