Using Acoustic Emission to Evaluate Fracture Toughness Energy Release Rate (GI) at Mode I Delamination of Composite Materials

Delamination is a critical damage mode in composite structures, not necessarily because it will cause the structure split into two or more pieces at the end of the damaging process, but because it can degrade the laminate strength to such a degree that it becomes useless in service. The design of composite structures to account for delamination and other forms of damage involves two fundamental considerations, namely damage resistance and damage tolerance. Knowledge of a laminated composite material’s resistance to interlaminar fracture is useful for product development and material selection.