An Integrated approach for damage identification in composite materials - PhD

Loughborough University

Non-destructive inspection based on acoustics is today one of the primary methods for the identification of damage precursors in components and structures. Acoustics-based methods are widely used to monitor material states during manufacturing or in operational conditions, however, there is a need for models that would assist in the interpretation of experimental findings.

The aim of this project is the identification of damage in composite plates through an integrated experimental-computational approach. To this aim, experimental measurements at the micro- and macro-scale using state-of-the-art monitoring techniques (e.g. micro-CT, Digital Image Correlation) will be used to quantify damage states and create inputs for the computational approach. The latter will leverage particle-based and continuum-level numerical techniques (peridynamics, XFEM) suitable to study wave propagation in layered materials and simulation of fracture events. Then, damaged regions will be predicted through modelling of ultrasonic testing. Also, the energy release of characteristic fracture types will be quantified, which is crucial to the design of next-generation sensing technologies.