Combination of Digital Image Correlation and Acoustic Emission for Damage Assessment of V-Shape Carbon/Epoxy Sub-Components

In the automotive sector, lightweight carbon/epoxy composites have shown their benefits compared to traditional metals, and they are used in several parts of vehicles, such as frames and chassis. In such sub-components, different cross-section geometries are utilized and the materials can be subjected to various loading combinations. Determining the precise damage development is of great importance to obtain improved designs, avoiding overdesigned parts and early failure. To that end, V-shape carbon/epoxy specimens have been experimentally characterized under both quasi-static and fatigue tensile loads. The potential of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Acoustic Emission (AE) for damage assessment is explored.