Analysis of the condition of thin-walled composite structures based on the results of experiments conducted at variable temperature by acoustic emission

This paper presents considerations for interpreting acoustic emission results in combination with equilibrium paths obtained from experiments conducted using a testing machine and a digital image correlation system. The experiments were performed on thin-walled carbon-epoxy composite profiles. Two types of samples with different shapes were tested at various temperatures. The samples had identical lay-up configurations. The primary objective of the research was to perform a quantitative and qualitative assessment of composite material damage using independent experimental testing techniques, including digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission. An additional aspect was to assess the impact of temperature on the stability and load-bearing capacity of thin-walled composite structures under variable thermal conditions (negative and positive temperatures). The paper used experimental, non-destructive testing methods to evaluate how two types of composite structures behave under different conditions and under simultaneous temperature variations.