A Method for Acoustic Emission Source Identification Based on Optimisation

Abstract

When a metal or composite structure begins to fail, for example due to high cycle fatigue, acoustic emissions caused by the propagation of cracks give rise to bursts of ultrasonic waves travelling through the structure. The health of a structure can be monitored by means of sensors which detect these waves. Acoustic emissions are often generated in experiments by breaking a pencil lead against the surface of the structure in a standardised way but the forces that this imparts are not well understood at present…