Experimental characterization, modelling and simulation of ae signal due to crack propagation in PMMA

Acoustic Emission (AE) is a non-destructive instrumentation that allows the detection of cracking, which dissipates elastic waves resulting from local crack-induced displacement jumps within the material. However, based on the AE experiments, a link between the crack fracture mechanics and the AE features is difficult to establish quantitatively, especially under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Numerical simulations have proved to be very promising for this purpose. In this study, Pencil-Lead Break (PLB) tests are carried out on PMMA plate specimens with different thicknesses in order to determine the damping characteristics of PMMA and experimentally validate the AE numerical simulations. The influence of the specimen thickness, the distance between the sensor/source and the type of sensors on the measured acoustic emission are also studied.