A Comprehensive Analysis of Acoustic Emission Signals to Distinguish the Different Damage Types for Fiber‐Reinforced Polymers: A Review

ABSTRACT Fiber‐reinforced polymers (FRP) attract the attention of key industries, such as aerospace, wind energy, and automotive, as they can reduce the weight of structural components without compromising their mechanical properties. Due to FRP's anisotropic and non‐homogeneous structure, their failure under different loading conditions and the corresponding failure mechanisms must be investigated. One method that progressively monitors the failure of FRP underload is Acoustic Emission (AE). AE can register the elastic stress waves in the form of digitized waveforms, released by the discontinuous events that occur in the FRP under load. These discontinuities can be clustered and identified as transverse cracking, fiber/matrix interface debonding, delamination, and fiber failure by analyzing the AE waveforms. Recently, numerous clustering approaches using machine learning algorithms, along with the varying features of AE waveforms, have been developed and are being used. These algorithms include supervised and unsupervised clustering, deep learning algorithms, and neural network methods, among others. While supervised algorithms require a training dataset to classify AE signals, unsupervised algorithms can perform clustering without training datasets. Deep learning and neural network algorithms can train themselves to cluster data, but they may require a significant amount of computer power when the dataset is large. This review paper provides comprehensive information on the clustering algorithm, along with the AE wave features, the range of features for different damage types, and the type of reinforcer.