UROP Project

Acoustic Emission Monitoring for Damage Characterization in Infrastructure Composites

Acoustic Emission, Damage Characterization, Composites, thermal cracking, material science

Research Mentor: Dr. Michael Elwardany, he, him, his
Department, College, Affiliation: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: melwardany@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Building A
Research Assistant Transportation Required: FSU Bus Services
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Monday, August 31
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTM1ZGI0ZjItZDU0MC00NTg1LWI2MDEtMTBjMjUwYTJlMjI0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22a36450eb-db06-42a7-8d1b-026719f701e3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f113451a-3d58-481d-a651-00ec6c504481%22%7d
• Day: Tuesday, September 1
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTM1ZGI0ZjItZDU0MC00NTg1LWI2MDEtMTBjMjUwYTJlMjI0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22a36450eb-db06-42a7-8d1b-026719f701e3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f113451a-3d58-481d-a651-00ec6c504481%22%7d
• Day: Thursday, September 3
  Start Time: 1:00
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTM1ZGI0ZjItZDU0MC00NTg1LWI2MDEtMTBjMjUwYTJlMjI0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22a36450eb-db06-42a7-8d1b-026719f701e3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f113451a-3d58-481d-a651-00ec6c504481%22%7d

Project Description

This undergraduate research explores the use of acoustic emission (AE) as a non-destructive technique for detecting and characterizing damage in infrastructure composites, such as fiber-reinforced polymers and polymer-modified concrete. AE sensors capture transient elastic waves generated by microcracking, fiber breakage, and delamination during mechanical loading. By analyzing AE signal features, such as amplitude, energy, and frequency content, the study aims to identify distinct damage mechanisms and monitor their evolution in real time. The project provides students with hands-on experience in experimental testing, signal analysis, and data interpretation, while contributing to the development of smarter, more durable, and sustainable infrastructure materials.

Research Tasks: Literature review
Hands-on experimental work
Data collection
Data analysis
Revising Python codes (potentially)
writing manuscript (potentially)


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
Committed, willing to learn, and a critical thinker
Recommended:
Python coding skills