Fibre Reinforced Plastic
Fibre
Reinforced Plastic, commonly known as FRP, is a non-linear material
which has made many processes both possible and safe since the development
of this composite. A major problem with FRP structures is that convenience
manufacturing often produces a material loaded with defects. In many
cases these defects are dormant and do not affect the structure; however,
in other structures the presence of manufacturing imperfections can
cause catastrophic failure. Acoustic emission techniques are the only
method available to realistically test and evaluate the integrity of
FRP structures. A problem with a FRP composite is that resin deformation
can result in a fast failure mechanism, while a resin/fibre irregularity
can propagate material deformation over long distances before some other
defect causes and unpredictable failure. The use of FRP in structures
such as man-lift platform (cherry-pickers) and for tanks and pipes in
the chemical industry has led to significant research on the acoustic
emission applications to FRP composites. Metacoustics has been active
in FRP research for over 20 years. This research includes FRP pipes
and tanks, and also with the acoustic emission evaluation during the
development of isotensoid FRP cells which are designed to change their
physical shape as the operating conditions change. This unique research
has been extended to develop acoustic emission monitoring and analysis
techniques for use on hot FRP structure.
