Simulation and feature analysis of modal acoustic emission wave in planar C/SiC composite

A catastrophic accident may be caused for nearby spacecraft due to the damage occurred in C/SiC thermal protection structure. Therefore, it is significant to analyze the damage feature of the ceramic composite structure. Acoustic emission (AE) is an effective non-destructive testing method which is widely used in aerospace industry. However, some key problems should be solved when the AE technology applied to the engineering field. In this paper some propagation characteristics of AE waves in C/SiC plate were investigated based on the finite element method. Firstly, two kinds of AE sources were established by combining plate wave theory and finite element method. Secondly, a novel simulation model was established which included the mechanical characters of C/SiC composite. Then to simulate the AE source, a stepped load and a dipole force is applied to generate the release of power loss. Additionally, the results of simulation are validated through the AE experiment with the analysis method of Choi-Williams transformation. Finally, the attenuation of AE signals propagation in C/SiC plate is discussed. The results of this research work demonstrated that the simulation method of AE waves in C/SiC structure proposed in this paper can be effectively used to study the wave propagation phenomenon