An integrated approach based on acoustic emission and mechanical information to evaluate the delamination fracture toughness at mode I in composite laminate

his paper addresses a new method based on the combination of mechanical behavior and acoustic emission (AE) information of composite materials during mode I delamination. The method is based on a special purpose function, called sentry function, which is defined as the logarithm of the ratio between mechanical energy and acoustic energy (f=Ln(Es/Ea)). The sentry function is used to study the delamination process and to evaluate the delamination fracture toughness in mode I. The relationship between cumulative fracture toughness energy release rate (GI) and the integral of the sentry function during crack propagation showed a transition point with two sensitive regions below and above it. This behavior can be followed to obtain the critical strain energy release rate value (GIc). Results obtained by means of the sentry function are compared with results obtained by a methodology proposed by other authors