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An introduction to acoustic emission

This article has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text article. 1987 J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 20 946 (http://iopscience.iop.org/0022-3735/20/8/001) View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more

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J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 20 (1987). Printed in the UK

INSTRUMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

An introduction to acoustic emission
C B Scruby
National NDT Centre, Material Physics and Metallurgy Division, AERE Harwell, Oxon OX1 1 ORA, UK Abstract. The technique of acoustic emission (AE) uses one or more sensors to listen to a wide range of events that may take place inside a solid material. Depending on the source of this high frequency sound, there are broadly three application areas: structural testing and surveillance, process monitoring and control, and materials characterisation. In the first case the source is probably a defect which radiates elastic waves as it grows. Provided these waves are detectable, AE can be used in conjunction with other NDT techniques to assess structural integrity. Advances in deterministic and statistical analysis methods now enable data to be interpreted in greater detail and with more confidence than before. In the second area the acoustic signature of processes is monitored, ranging from for instance the machining of metallic components to the mixing of foodstuffs, and changes correlated with variations in the process, with the potential for feedback and process control. In the third area. AE is used as an additional diagnostic technique for the study of, for instance, fracture, because it gives unique dynamic information on defect growth. each source being an AE event. The signals detected by the transducers are also sometimes called acoustic emissions or AE signals. Until some five or more years ago interest was focused on the NDT applications of AE, most source events therefore being associated with crack growth. As applications have broadened to include the monitoring of various materials processes, and as materials scientists have used AE more widely as a diagnostic technique, so has the list of potential AE source events. The following list is not exhaustive, but it gives the reader an idea of the diversity now enjoyed by the subject. Materials degradation - defect growth, crack advance, plastic deformation, inclusion or precipitate fracture, surface degradation including corrosion and disbonding of coatings. Reversible processes - crystallographic phase transformations, melting or solidification, thermoelastic effects, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric domain wall motion, friction between surfaces (e.g. crack face fretting, although not strictly reversible). 0 Fabrication processes - welding noise (including defects), rolling, forging, machining, drilling, mixing, grinding, valve sequencing. 0 Leak and flow - flow of single- and two-phase fluids and particles, leaks, gas evolution, boiling. As can be seen, many different processes generate AE signals, and it is sometimes difficult to know what to include as examples. The author usually includes all internal sources of sound that are localised spatially, and lie within the normal bandwidth for AE detection, i.e. above u 2 0 kHz and therefore ultrasonic. Most of the events are: strictly speaking. transient, giving rise to bursts of ultrasonic energy (figure 2(a)), and even

1. Introduction Over the past 20 years there has been a huge growth of interest in what are generally called non-destructive testing (NDT) and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. These are methods for probing inside the materials that are used to construct structures, manufacturing plants, etc. The aim is to characterise the material and detect any defects present, but without damaging or disturbing the material or structure in any way. The main motivation for NDT has been increased safety standards, but economic considerations are equally important, especially when the quality control of a material product is at issue. The major NDT techniques use either electromagnetic waves (from high frequency y and x-rays through visible light to low frequency eddy current and magnetic methods) or high frequency sound waves (ultrasonics in its various forms). One method that falls into the second category is acoustic emission (AE), although as we shall see there are some very important differences between AE and other NDT techniques. The term acoustic emission is used to describe both a technique and the phenomenon upon which the technique is based. If there is a sudden release of energy within a solid, caused, for instance, by the growth of a crack, then some of the energy is dissipated in the form of elastic waves (figure 1). Generally speaking, the proportion of energy that is released as elastic waves rather than say as heat, depends on the nature of the source, how localised it is and how rapidly the release takes place. Localised, rapid energy releases give rise to elastic waves in the ultrasonic frequency regime that can be detected by microphones or transducers attached to the surface of the specimen (figure l), provided the waves are of sufficient amplitude. This whole process is known as acoustic emission,
0022-3735/87/080946

t
Transducer measures surface motion

Energy radiated as elastic waves s m n energy

I

I
/

Energy dissipated as heat etc

Figure 1. Sudden localised changes in stress or strain within a body radiate some energy as elastic waves (acoustic emission) whilst some is dissipated as heat

+ 08 $02.50 0 1987 IOP Publishing Ltd

A n introduction to acoustic emission such as the mixing and flow of solid powders are also being investigated (Arrington 1981). For some years, AE has proved itself to be a valuable materials testing tool in the laboratory (Wadley et a1 1980). When used in conjunction with other metallurgical and materials analysis techniques, AE has enabled our understanding of deformation and fracture to advance. It is at present convenient to divide the applications areas for acoustic emission into three: (i) structural testing and surveillance; (ii) process monitoring and control: (iii) materials characterisation and testing. The first area includes most of the traditional NDT applications for acoustic emission, in the petrochemical, offshore, nuclear, aerospace and construction industries. The motivation is usually to assure structural integrity and improve safety. The second area has mostly developed more recently, to include the monitoring of fabrication processes of a wide range of materials, including metals, non-metals, chemicals and food, at various stages in their production. The motivation is usually economic, although ultimate safety may also be important. The third area is likely to remain smaller commercially. but still important, the work being mostly linked to materials research and development. Our understanding of the physical processes involved in AE has also developed over the past years. Because some aspects of the technique, particularly elastic wave propagation in bounded solids, are intrinsically difficult, the physical understanding and theoretical basis have often tended to lag behind practical applications. In the last five years this situation has begun to be rectified, and AE is now on a firmer physical foundation, some aspects of which we now turn to.

Time (0.1 - 1 ms)

Time (1-100 mini

b
Time 11-100s)

Time 11-100 min)

Figure 2. (a) Short transient events generate burst emissions. (b) Sources of longer duration generate continuous emission, which often comprises many overlapping transient events. Left: as observed on oscilloscope. Right: as observed by R M S data.

those that appear to be continuous, e.g. from dislocation motion (figure 2(b)) or grinding, are mostly the superposition of large numbers of overlapping transient events. Whole-body vibration at low frequencies is excluded, being classified as machine health monitoring, while valve noise is included because it is transient and localised. While flow noise is continuous rather than transient, it is frequently monitored by AE sensors and instrumentation and is therefore included.

2. Development as a testing tool The potential of AE for detecting and locating flaws remotely in a wide range of engineering structures was recognised early on in the study of the technique, and most of the applications in which acoustic emission made a name for itself were in structural testing and surveillance for critical defects. It was also in these that it acquired its reputation for being sometimes unreliable. a point we shall return to later. Probably the first documented application of AE was to the testing of rocket-motor casings (Green et a1 1964). This was some ten years after the first major laboratory study of the phenomenon (Kaiser 1953). AE is therefore younger than other NDT techniques such as ultrasonics and radiography. This first application was followed by a wide range of applications in various industries (Spanner 198 1). The monitoring of pressure vessels was an obvious one, with AE being used as an add on technique during hydrostatic proof tests. The nuclear industry had an obvious requirement for a technique that would detect and locate incipient defects (Scruby and Wadley 1983, Runow 1985). The petrochemical industry also invested in the technique for testing pressurised components. The testing of glass-reinforced plastic composite vessels has been particularly successful (Phillips et a1 1984. Fowler 1986). AE has also been applied to structural monitoring in the aerospace industries, and a modest amount of in-flight monitoring has been attempted (Hutton and Skorpik 1981). More recently AE has been identified as potentially very useful for the continuous monitoring of offshore structures (Rogers 1986). In the last few years AE has also begun to be exploited for a wide range of fabrication and process monitoring applications (Wadley and Mehrabian 1984). Weld fabrication monitoring has been under development for some years (Bentley et a1 1982) but more recently various machining processes have started to be monitored (Lan and Dornfeld 1984). Other materials processes,

3. Generation of AE by source events The source of the elastic waves is an event inside the body. In many cases it is no trivial matter understanding what the source events are in practical materials, or what the generation mechanism is. In the case of a growing crack, still arguably the most important AE source, the formation of new crack faces must be accompanied by sudden changes in stress and displacement of material in the vicinity of the crack. Varying stresses and strains must by definition act as sources of stress (elastic) waves (figure 3). If the stress change is large and rapid, high amplitude elastic waves (AE) radiate away from the crack. carrying a large portion of the energy from the source. Such would be the case for the growth of a brittle crack (figure 4(a)). In the case of the growth of a ductile crack (figure 4(b)). much of the energy goes to drive dislocations in the enlarging plastic zone associated with

Crack parameter, e g volume

/
Time

Time New crack

Figure 3. When a crack is formed, its dimensions suddenly increase from zero, accompanied by a local change in stress which acts as a source of ultrasonic waves. The compression wave is a pulse of displacement.

94 7

Secondary events

Primary events

&
Eiastic response of pce-crack B r i t t l e crack
___c

I
Ptastic openng a t crack tlp

, Pastlc

One

Phst c neck formation

___c

Crack velocty 100-1000 ms-

Crack veiocity s 1 m s- products etc

of inclusions

U)

Crack growih

. . . . . .f. . . . . .
. . .
.............
1

I
........

Noise

Figure 5. Showing some of the primaryemission sources associated with crack growth. Plastic opening and elastic response of the pre-crack enhance the signals generated by crack advance. Secondary events occur during fatigue irrespective of whether the crack advances.

(a)

[b)

Figure 4. Showing how (a) fast brittle crack advance generates detectable remission signals, while (b) slow ductile loading may not be detectable.

the crack. This slows the crack down and prevents it from growing catastrophically. The tip of the crack is quickly blunted. It should be obvious that far less energy from this type of crack is available for radiation as elastic waves (AE), Other work (Scruby 1985) has shown that it is the rate of energy release, i.e. the rate of crack advance, rather than just the energy that controls the amplitude of the AE signals. This confirms that brittle crack growth should always be readily detectable (figure 4(a)), while slow, ductile growth itself may be barely detectable, if at all (figure 4(b)), unless there are other factors involved such as amplification by a large pre-crack, or unless the crack increments are very large. The plastic deformation that takes energy away from the elastic wave can itself produce additional sources of AE that may be detectable, even if the growth of the ductile crack itself is quiet. The most likely mechanism is the fracture of inclusions or their decohesion from the matrix as the plastic zone passes through them. They are, however, rarely very energetic events. Depending on the heat treatment of the material, there can sometimes be intense localised slip events which radiate detectable AE signals. Returning to crack growth, there are several factors that may contribute to make a crack noisier in an industrial pressure vessel or other test than in an ideal laboratory specimen. (i) Large pre-existing defects act as resonators or sounding boards, enhancing the signals from the crack tip and amplifying the AE. (ii) Regions of lower toughness and different composition, e.g. due to welding and heat treatment, may be prone to more brittle crack growth and higher A E amplitudes, (iii) Environmental effects may cause corrosion or embrittiement, both of which tend to increase AE amplitudes. (iv) Vessels are tested under slowly increasing load, so that cracks tend to run further, generating larger AE signals than in laboratory tests under strain or displacement control. A11 these source events are directly associated with the accumulation of damage in the material. They are sometimes known as primary events (figure 5). Large cracks may also generate A E under fatigue loading when their faces rub together (fretting). These are known as secondary events (figure 5) since they do not of themselves indicate crack advance. They are, however, very useful for detecting cracks, and growth can 948

be deduced from accurate source location. A corrosive environment will enhance secondary emission by inducing brittle corrosion products to grow between the moving crack surfaces. Materials damage and degradation processes such as crack growth tend to act as discrete short duration ( < 1 /is) sources of elastic waves. They are consequently very broad band, with energy extending from DC or very low frequencies up to 1 MHz or 10MHz or even higher. The same applies to some of the reversible processes such as phase transitions, including the martensitic transformation. Leaks, flow and many of the fabrication processes produce not discrete pulses (bursts) of acoustic energy, but a continuous or pseudo-continuous signal that resembles noise, For instance, a grinding process produces millions of tiny discrete acoustic sources each time the particles strike one another, but which overlap one another so effectively that the signal is indistinguishable from a continuous source. Since each discrete event is broad band the average noise signal is usually also broad band. It may have upper or lower frequency limits or even preferred frequency bands according to the size and geometry of the particles, etc. Invariably there is significant attenuation limiting higher frequencies.
4. Wave propagation

The propagation of ultrasonic waves in bounded elastic solids is very complex (see e.g. Achenbach 1973) and beyond full consideration here. However, the reader may find some general discussion helpful. The source, if internal to the specimen, radiates sound waves which propagate to the boundaries. In general there will be compression and shear waves, These waves can often be detected directly by transducers attached to the specimen, provided they are sufficiently close (figure 6(a)). These direct waves will, however, be closely followed by a series of echoes and reverberations within the specimens, which often overlap making data interpretation difficult. Theoretical analysis is only possible in the simplest geometries (Scruby 1985) The situation is further complicated by the fact that most real cracks in structures are large enough that the dimensions of the source should be taken into account. Attempts have been made by analytical (Achenbach et a1 1983) and the numerical methods (Fukunaga and Kishi 1986) to calculate the emission from the extension of finite cracks. Fortunately it appears that simplifying the problem by assuming a localised (point) source and applying a correction factor is often an acceptable alternative. Particularly on large structures, the transducers have to be located some distance from the source event, in which case most of the ultrasonic energy reaching them is in the form of surface (Rayleigh) and plate (Lamb) waves. The latter build up during the mode conversion that takes place each time the bulk waves strike a boundary. There are advantages in this conversion into surface and plate wave energy, chiefly because attenuation of

A n introduction to acoustic emission

surfuce wave

Echoes in piate

Time

Figure 6. Showing how complex elastic wave propagation can be in plate-like structures. At (a) direct bulk waves are followed by reverberation in the plate, at (b) Rayleigh surface waves are also detected, while at (c) Lamb wave modes dominate the signal together with the Rayleigh wave (at 80 plate thicknesses). Calculated data from Pao et a1 (1979) and Weaver and Pao ( I 982) respectively, for a surface source which is a point force step.

Rayleigh waves is less, due to two-dimensional rather than three-dimensional spreading. The Rayleigh wave soon dominates the waveform at the surface of a plate specimen as the distance from the source is increased (figure 6(B)). On thin plates (Weaver and Pao 1982), Lamb waves, especially the antisymmetrical modes, tend to dominate (figure 6(c)). The Rayleigh wave is ideal for two-dimensional source location techniques, However, it is difficult to deduce the form of the elastic wave leaving the source once the energy has been converted into surface and plate waves, and hence to characterise the source event. Furthermore, it is difficult to deduce the depth of the source from the surface and plate waves. The specimen as a whole acts acoustically like a large and complex resonant filter system, whether it is a small laboratory sample or a full-scale plant or structure. A broad-band transient source tends to excite the normal modes of the specimen, whose frequencies depend upon the dimensions. There is a benefit in that there is generally a gain in sensitivity to small events, provided the frequency range of the detector is well matched to the frequencies generated in the specimen. There is, however, the inevitable loss of bandwidth, so that it is more difficult to characterise the source process itself.

5. Detection and transducers In order to detect AI? events, some form of transducer or sensor is required to convert very small surface displacements (of the order of pm) into electrical signals that can be amplified and recorded. By far the most common type of transducer depends upon the piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectric transducers are sensitive, easy to apply, cheap and an established technology in ultrasonics as well as AE. They are unlikely to be superseded as the principal AE detector for many years to come. They work best when in intimate contact with the specimen, good coupling usually being achieved by grease or some other non-attenuating fluid. Other types of transducer have been used for specialised studies, for calibration and for high temperatures, including optical and capacitive sensors (Palmer and Green 1977, Scruby and Wadley 1978). They are mostly less sensitive, more expensive and more difficult to use, and we shall consider them no further here.

Most piezoelectric transducers (figure 7), as used for A E measurement, have the sensing element in the form of a disc of the piezoelectric material, which is usually lead zirconate titanate (PZT). If the disc is unbacked and undamped in any way, it acts as a resonator for incident and elastic waves so that the output EMF is typically a decaying sinusoid, the principal frequency of which is determined by the thickness of the element. There are also radial resonances at lower frequencies. The output (figure 7 ( d ) ) bears little resemblance to the displacement (figure 7(a)). Backing the element with an attenuating medium such as epoxy (usually loaded with tungsten to match its impedance) produces a heavily damped transducer with a more broad-band response (figure 7(c)). The frequencies chosen for most resonant AE transducers lie in the range 100 kHz to 1 MHz. These are well matched to specimens with thicknesses lying between a few millimetres and fractions of a metre, since the thickness controls the specimen resonances and dominant Lamb wave frequencies. When choosing a transducer for an application, it is clearly advantageous to optimise sensitivity by matching frequencies. Broad-band AE transducers often comprise a piezoelectric element whose natural frequency is at the upper end of or above the pass band of interest, Thus for monitoring in the range 100 kHz to 1 MHz, a frequency between 1 and 2 MHz might be chosen. Damping such a resonator produces a reasonable flat response below the natural frequency. One disadvantage with the use of a disc element is that it tends to maintain its broad-band response only for waves incident perpendicular to its face. Destructive interference distorts the response and reduces the bandwidth at other orientations. This effect is insignificant at lower frequencies unless the transducer is very large (wavelength of Rayleigh waves on steel at 100 kHz N 30 mm). A recent development (Proctor 1983) has been to replace the disc by a cone with contact diameter N 1 mm, backing this with brass (figure 7(b)). Such a transducer maintains its bandwidth at all orientations, behaving as a point receiver, but with lower sensitivity inevitably. It is normally advantageous to employ a resonant transducer to improve sensitivity. There is only a significant gain
949

C B Scruby
Theory

in1
U

Mechanical v ibMt ion

60
40
0 25 50
.41

I
1 2 Frequency ( M H z l
3

20 0

(b)

Steel shim wear p l a t e

(bl 80 Spectrum o f broad -band

Tungsten

epoxy

backing
\

Disc element

1 2 Frequency ( M H z l

1
3

No backing

I
40-,----,-I
0 25 50

Flowiboiling noise absent

(Cl

'

Disc element

Figure 7. Showing the response of different types of piezoelectric transducer to a standard waveform. The point-contact transducer (b) (with conical element and wear plate) reproduces the theory (a) well with little distortion. The backed disc element (c) has a damped resonance with a reasonable response to the compression wave (P), while the response of the resonant disc (d) bears little resemblance to the surface displacement.

-40

2:::

J
3

1 Frequency ( M H z )

if the bandwidth of the signal is much less than the bandwidth of the noise. When the AE signals and the background noise are both broad band there may be little gain. The exception would be when there are strong specimen resonances to which the source event couples, and to which the transducer frequency is carefully matched. Broad-band transducers are selected when waveform analysis is desired. AE events appear as random signals above a background noise level (figure 4). The success of the technique lies partly therefore in minimising the background noise, whether electronic or acoustic (figure 8). Thus piezoelectric materials with high intrinsic sensitivity should be used together with low noise amplification, and attention paid to isolating as much acoustic noise and electromagnetic interference from the test as possible. The most critical stage in the amplification is the first stage of the pre-amplifier, to which the transducer is coupled. This especially should be low noise, and matched to the transducer response as closely as possible. Band-pass filtering is nearly always necessary in practice. Reducing bandwidth normally improves the signal-to-noise ratio, but subject to the proviso above. As figure 8 shows, high
950

Figure 8. (a) Neglecting radio-frequency interference, the major sources of background noise in most tests are broad-band electronic noise, and vibration noise at low frequencies (below 2~ 50 kHz). Operational pressurised plant often contributes broad-band flow and boiling noise (all schematic spectra). (b)Idealised spectrum for emission event, neglecting effects of specimen resonances, etc. (c) In absence of flow/boiling noise, a good signal/noise ratio is obtained over a band from N 100 kHz to N 2 MHz for this example. There would be a small gain in narrowing the band pass to 1 MHz. With flow/boiling noise a narrower band pass from N 500 kHz to 1 2 MHz would improve signal/noise.

frequency rejection reduces electronic noise, while low frequency rejection ensures that acoustic vibration, which can be of high amplitude on most plant and testing rigs, does not interfere with the results. Some form of calibration is desirable, although not always easy in practice, because it is difficult to simulate a real crack event. Few workers bother with absolute calibration in terms of surface displacement, but choose relative calibration, which is adequate for most work. Any quantitative work requires absolute calibration, and comparison of work between laboratories requires absolute standardisation. There have been recent advances towards these goals, by the use of absolute transducers, laser calibration methods and standard AE sources (Sachse and Hsu 1980, Scala 1984).

A n introduction to acoustic emission

6. Data analysis One of the earliest methods of data reduction and analysis, and probably still the most common, is to pass the amplified signal to a discriminator, which registers a count each time a pre-set or variable threshold is crossed (figure 9). If a long dead-time between the threshold crossings is set, then the equipment counts the numbers of bursts, while if there is a very short deadtime it will give a variable number of counts per burst, the number being in some way related to the amplitude and/or energy in the event. Count rate can also be recorded. This analysis system works reliably for discrete bursts, although changing the threshold level because of changes in noise level will vary the results, and it can be extended to give amplitude distributions also. It works far less well with continuous emission. An alternative (figure 9), widely used technique is to pass the amplified signal into a device whose output gives the R M S signal level, or mean square signal (i.e. power). This is ideal for monitoring continuous emission, particularly from fabrication processes, and is also useful for bursts. While it gives a good measure of activity rate, it does not give the number of bursts directly as an output, and needs to be used in association with a threshold system for location studies. Generally speaking, the
count rate in the first system and the RMS (or MS) are comparable parameters, although neither is easy to relate directly to source activity. The acoustic emission technique becomes much more powerful for structural testing if an array of sensors is used, so that the location of each event can be deduced from the times of arrival of the waves at each sensor (figure IO). Linear (1D) and planar (2D) location systems are readily available and routinely used in a wide range of applications. The chief problem is ensuring each transducer responds to the same wave arrival. Fortunately, when the source is at or near the top surface this is the dominant Rayleigh wave with a known velocity on most plate structures. There can be complications if the source is on the opposite surface from the transducers when the Rayleigh wave is absent, and the largest arrival is a Lamb wave, whose velocity depends on plate thickness, or when one or more surfaces is covered with water. However this is rarely reported as a serious problem in practice. 3D location is not routinely used, but it has been demonstrated in the laboratory using bulk wave arrival times (Scruby 1985). This method of location which is known as triangulation is very successful in discarding spurious data, i.e. it is a spatial filter. Inevitably, however, it also rejects weak but genuine events if they fail to trigger enough sensor channels, making the technique less sensitive. It has been argued that this may be one factor contributing to the poor success of AE in detecting crack growth in ductile steels. The alternative procedure of zone location is less selective and therefore more sensitive. The event is located in a zone defined by the one or more transducers that the emission first hits. Thus a weak event may only hit one transducer, but it is still recorded, although with little spatial discrimination. A stronger event will hit several transducers, enabling a smaller zone to be defined. In addition to detecting and locating AE events, most practitioners also wish to be able to characterise them, identifying what each source is, and as far as possible quantifying (i.e. sizing) the accumulation of damage. This has generally proved difficult to do objectively. There are, broadly speaking, two approaches, the statistical or empirical method (Scala and Coyle 1983) and the deterministic or fundamental method (Scruby et a1 1985) (figure 9).

Simple

/-

threshold

Threshold and delay Multiple thresholds, etc

RMS

I
Narrow-band detectm system

drstribut ions

Or MS

Integration

Frequency spectrum Statistical pattern recognition

Tmnsducer 1

0
Broad- band detect ion system
fl

Fourier transform Amplitudes, times, eic Mrival strengths

I
I I-

/ t, 4 - 2 0

Locus of
ps

deconvolution Transducer 2 s~rce characterisation

Locus of t3-&40 ps

Transducer 3

Figure 9. Showing some of the different methods available for analysing narrow-band and broad-band acoustic emission data.

Figure 10. Showing principle of planar (2D) location. Measurements from data give arrival time differences from which source location can be calculated assuming constant velocity. Here the first hit is at transducer 2, the wave reaching transducers 1 and 3 , 2 0 and 40 ps later respectively.

95 1

C B Scruby

The statistical method first involves extracting a large number of parameters from each signal, e.g. arrival times, amplitudes, principal frequency components. The next stage is to use a learning set of data to deduce patterns in the measured parameters, which can then hopefully be correlated with other evidence about the source events, e.g. from destructive examination or other NDT techniques. This pattern recognition technique is then applied to the data from unknown events, which are categorised according to which cluster of values the parameters fall into. Statistical source characterisation is clearly of wide applicability, examples of its use include data from weld fabrication, nuclear vessel tests and aircraft component tests. It is particularly suitable for complex geometries, anisotropic or inhomogeneous materials. since it does not assume knowledge of the physical relationship between the source process and the measurements made. It is straightforward to apply with modern computers, but it does require large data sets in order to be statistically sound. For instance, if five features are used to give separation into two classes, at least 100 sets of data must be examined and preferably many more. It should be noted that the statistical method is not guaranteed to succeed. It can only extract meaningful correlations if the relevant information is hidden in the data. It can also be prone to producing correlations that are not relevant to the problem. and substantial testing is therefore always advisable. Deterministic characterisation is based on a reasonably detailed knowledge of the physical processes involved in the source, wave propagation and detection by the transducers, so that a mathematical model can be set up. The model needs not only extensive theoretical knowledge, but also careful in situ calibration. Its advantages are that it is capable of producing quantitative information about each source event in a very useful form. Full deterministic characterisation is, however, always likely to be limited in the applications for which it can be used, and to require expensive computing facilities. A simplified version, using only certain wave arrivals, is easier to apply where the transducers can be placed relatively close to the source region, but is prone to errors. In the long term a compromise technique may well be the answer, in which physically significant parameters are measured from the raw data, but then analysed statistically. A key factor will always be the quality of the raw data, and continuing transducer development will be necessary. The data from most process sources of AE are generally not amenable to deterministic characterisation methods. Statistical methods are clearly the most appropriate for a signal that often resembles white noise. At the simplest level it may be possible to correlate changes in the process variables with the RMS signal in a carefully chosen frequency band. The next stage of sophistication is to monitor changes in the frequency content by some form of spectral analysis. For instance a shift in frequency could indicate a change in particle size in a flow or grinding process. There are more sophisticated statistical analysis procedures available, although at present these may be precluded for on-line monitoring because they are too slow and/or costly.
7. Discussion and conclusions AE is clearly a potentially useful NDT, process and materials probe. It has, however, a number of key characteristics that differentiate it from most established techniques. Failure to recognise these in the past has sometimes caused AE to be misused to give inevitably disappointing results. It is therefore worth listing its major characteristics. (i) The source of the ultrasonic waves is internal, originating in the defect or process itself, unlike techniques which are an external source such as ultrasonics. Thus a large body can be
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monitored continuously by a modest array of receiving transducers, a considerable advantage. However, this also means that it is impossible to intensify the sound field generated by the source to improve sensitivity, so that weak events may not be detected. (ii) Many important AE events are irreversible. Events cannot afford to be missed since they are not repeated. Thus AE systems must be extremely reliable. (iii) Most AE events occur randomly in time and are also transient and broad band. Thus many routine methods for noise reduction, such as signal averaging in the time domain, cannot be applied to improve sensitivity. There is, however, scope for spatial filtering, based on location, and pattern recognition techniques during prolonged monitoring. Low noise instrumentation is essential for most NDT applications. (iv) AE is a real-time technique. It detects defects as they grow and processes as they occur. Conventional NDT takes static measurements after the event has taken place. The advantage is that AE detects only defects that are actively growing under stress, i.e. it selects the potentially most harmful defects. It can be used to detect static defects under cyclic loading if their faces undergo fretting. Regrettably AE may also be sensitive to various spurious noise sources, although these can usually be discriminated against. Some see as a disadvantage the fact that the material must be undergoing change; in the case of structure it must be subjected to some form of varying stress. AE is best applied during proof tests or under service loading conditions. (v) AE amplitudes tends to depend upon the rate of change of stress within the body, i.e. the rate of change of defect size in an NDT application. The total size of the large defect can also have an effect on the amplitude by acting as a sounding board to enhance the signals, and is more difficult to deduce than the incremental size. This time dependence gives rise to widely varying sensitivities to different sources. AE can thus be sensitive to minute increments in crack length ( E 1 pm) in brittle materials, and insensitive to larger crack advances in ductile materials where crack velocities are orders of magnitude smaller. It can be seen that there are a number of inherent advantages in the technique, that it can readily monitor a large structure (i), that it selects changes and growing defects and reports the changes as they happen (iv), and that it can be extremely sensitive (v). The drawbacks tend to apply when it is used as an NDT tool rather than for process monitoring. The most serious drawback is its low sensitivity to slowly changing events (v), with no way of enhancing the signal (i) or reducing the noise (iii). Prior knowledge of the existence of this problem and of the most probable damage processes in a given application ought to ensure that AE is only used where it has a good chance of being successful. To alleviate disappointment at its insensitivity to slow crack growth, it must be pointed out that the most serious defects in structures are invariably the fastest growing ones, which may be missed by other inspection techniques when they are small. AE has a good chance of detecting these. Larger ductile cracks in pressure vessel steels, to which AE may be less sensitive, in the absence of corrosion should only grow very slowly during service and therefore are not expected to cause early failure. They should in any case be detectable by NDT techniques during routine inspections. A E is thus best employed as an adjunct to inspection techniques. As implied earlier, AE has had mixed success as a structural testing and surveillance technique, especially in the early years. Recently, a more realistic picture of its capabilities has begun to emerge. The range of problems has been focused down to those where it is known to have a good probability of success, i.e. where prior knowledge of the materials and environment

An introduction to acoustic emission indicate detectable defect growth. It is well established for composite vessel testing for instance, and showing considerable promise for offshore structural monitoring. It can never be judged according to the same criteria as techniques like radiography, magnetic particle inspection and ultrasonics, because the physical principles are so different. In the process monitoring area the situation is different. AE can clearly only be used if the process of interest emits sound at a level that can be detected by a transducer above the general background noise, which is likely to be high on most plants. This question can usually be resolved fairly quickly by a suitable experimental measurement at minimum cost or interference with the process. The next important question is whether a critical change in the process is reflected by a change in emission characteristics, involving more extensive measurements. In many cases the answer is yes, although the changes may be more subtle than is desirable. The ultimate goal is process control, when a signal for the AE system is fed back into the process controller. The AE system must therefore make a decision and feed it back sufficiently fast to control the process. There is every hope that AE should prove to be a sufficiently cheap non-invasive measurement technique to find progressively wider application with the process industries. Indeed, the author believes that process monitoring in its broadest sense is likely to be the largest growth area for the technique over the next five years or so. AE has a small but important contribution to make to materials testing. It has already demonstrated its high sensitivity to deformation and fracture processes on a microscopic scale in the laboratory, and yielded new insights into the dynamics of these processes. Acknowledgment Work described in this report was mostly undertaken as part of the Underlying Programme of the UKAEA. References Achenbach J D 1973 Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids (New York: Elsevier) Achenbach J D, Hirashima K and Ohno K 1983 J. Sound Vibration 89 523 Arrington M 198 1 NDTInt. 14 3 Bentley P G, Dawson D G and Prine D W 1982 NDTInt. 15 243 Fowler T J 1986 Progress in Acoustic Emission III (Tokyo: Japanese Society of NDI) p 150 Fukunaga Y and Kishi T 1986 Progress in Acoustic Emission III (Tokyo: Japanese Society of NDI) p 722 Green A T, Lockman C S and Steel R K 1964 Modern Plastics 4 1 I 3 7 Hutton P H and Skorpik J R 198 1 Trans. Instrum. Soc. Am. 20 79 Kaiser J 1953 Ark. Eisenhuttenwessen 24 43 Lan M S and Dornfeld D A J 1984 Engng Mater. Tech. 106 I 1 1 Palmer C H and Green R E Jr 1977 Appl. Opt.16 2333 Pao Y-H, Gajewski R R and Ceranoglu A N 1979 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65 96 Phillips M G, Guild F J and Harris B 1984 Plastics Rubber Proc. Applns 4 1
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Proctor T M 1983 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 71 1163 Rogers L M 1986 Hazards 9 (IChemE Symposium Series No 97) Runow P 1985 Int. J. Pressure Vessels Piping 2 1 157 Sachse W and Hsu N 1980 Phvsical Acoustics XIV ed. W P Mason and R N Thurston Scala C M 1984 J. Acoustic Emission 2 275 Scala C M and Coyle R A 1983 NDT Int. 16 339 Scruby C B 1985 Research Techniques in Nondestructive Testing vol. 8, ed. R S Sharp (London: Academic) p 14 1 Scruby C B, Baldwin G R and Stacey K A 1985 Int. J. Fracture 28 20 1 Scruby C B and Wadley H N G 1978 J. Phvs. D: Appl. Phys. 1 1 1487 Scruby C B and Wadley H N G 1983 Prog. Nucl. Energy 1 I 275 Spanner J C 198 1 Advances in Acoustic Emission (USA: Dunhart) p 1 Wadley H N G and Mehrabian R 1984 Mater. Sci. Engng 65 245 Wadley H N G, Scruby C B and Speake J H 1980 Int. Metal Rev. 3 4 1 Weaver R L and Pao Y-H 1982 J. Appl. Mech. 49 82 1

Christopher Scruby leads the Acoustics and Optics Section within the Materials Physics and Metallurgy Division, Harwell Laboratory. He is also an Industrial Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford University. He holds an MA in natural sciences from Cambridge University and an MSc in science of materials from London University. He carried out research into charge-density waves in layer compounds for his PhD at Imperial College, London. He joined Harwell in 1975 where 111s current research intere\t\ include acoustic emission, optical methods in ultrasonics, ultrasonic process monitoring and acoustic microscopy. He is a committee member of the Physical Acoustics Group of The Institute of Physics.