Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%. In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career. Non-destructive inspection based on acoustics is today one the primary methods for the identification of damage precursors in components and structures. Acoustics-based methods are widely used to monitor material states during manufacturing or in operational conditions; however, there is a need for models that would assist in the interpretation of experimental findings. The aim of this project is the identification of damage in composite plates through an integrated experimental-computational approach. To this aim, experimental measurements at the micro- and macro-scale using state-of-the art monitoring techniques (e.g. micro-CT, Digital Image Correlation) will be used to quantify damage states and create inputs for the computational approach. The latter will leverage particle-based and continuum level numerical techniques (peridynamics, XFEM) suitable to study wave propagation in layered materials and simulation of fracture events. Then, damaged regions will be predicted through modeling of ultrasonic testing. Also, the energy release of characteristic fracture types will be quantified, which is crucial to the design of next generation sensing technologies.