Performance analysis of acoustic emission hit detection methods using time features

Acoustic emission (AE) analysis is a powerful potential characterisation method forfracture mechanism analysis during metallic specimen testing. Nevertheless, identifying and extracting each event when analysing the raw signal remains a major challenge. Typically, AEdetection is carried out using a thresholding approach. However, thoughextensively applied, this approach presents some critical limitationsdue to overlapping transients,differences in strength and low signal-to-noise ratio.To address these limitations, advancedmethodologies for detecting AE hits have been developedin the literature. The most prominently used are instantaneous amplitude, the short-termaverage to long-term average ratio,the Akaike information criterionandwaveletanalysis, each of which exhibits satisfactory performance and easeof implementationfordiverseapplications. However, their pronenessto errors in the presence of non-cyclostationary AEwavefrontsand the lack of thoroughcomparison for transient AE signalsare constraints to the wider application of these methodsin non-destructive testing procedures.In this studywith the aim of make aware about the drawbacks of the traditionalthreshold approach, a comprehensiveanalysis ofits limiting factorswhentaking in regard the AE waveformbehaviouris presented.Additionallyin a second section, a performance analysis of the main advanced representative-methods in the field is carried out throughacommon comparative framework, by analysing first, AE waves generated from a standardisedHsu-Nielsen testand second, adata frame of a highly active signal derivedfrom a tensile test.With the aim to quantify the performance with which theseAE detection methodologies work, for the first time in literature, time features as the endpoint and duration accuracies, as well as statistical metricsas accuracy, precisionand false detection rates, are studied.Postprint (author's final draft

Predicting acoustic emission attenuation in solids using ray-tracing within a 3D solid model

Acoustic Emission (AE), is a non-destructive testing and monitoring technique that can be applied to a wide range of situations for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in mechanical systems and components. Acoustic emission technology involves the propagation of elastic (stress) waves generated by such events as particle impingement, cracking or fluid flow. These waves are recorded at one or more surface-mounted sensor placed at some distance from the generating site(s) and it is necessary to have a means of coping with the implications of the propagation path. It is generally not practicable to solve the wave equation for all possible modes of AE propagation in a solid and this project is based on simulating such propagation using ray tracing applied within a computer-generated solid model representing the structure being monitored. As the attenuation of AE waves is affected not only by the material properties but also by the geometry of the object and the type of surrounding media, knowledge of attenuation is essential to ensure that sensors can be placed appropriately on large or complex structures. The aim of the current work was to establish the capability of predicting the attenuation of AE using a computer-graphical ray tracing technique incorporated in a 3D solid model. The investigative approach involved simulating AE propagation in a range of simple objects of various shapes and sizes and also measuring propagation in these objects using a point source. By comparing simulated and measured attenuation, it was possible to determine appropriate values for the parameters of the simulation, such as the reflection coefficients and the degree of internal friction as well as the proportion of energy carried in surface and bulk waves, respectively. It is concluded that the ray tracing technique has the capability to predict AE attenuation in different shapes and with different environments and materials using a simple division of wave modes into bulk and surface waves. Refinements are suggested in the further work for cases where a more precise representation of the propagation modes is needed

Lamb: a simulation tool for air-coupled lamb wave based ultrasonic NDE systems

La técnica de las ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire representa un importante avance en el área de los Ensayos No Destructivos (END) de materiales laminares.Sin embargo la compleja naturaleza de las vibraciones mecánicas encontradas en acústica, hacen que el análisis y el estudio de esta área del conocimiento sea un tema muy complejo. De allí que la posibilidad de contar con una herramienta de simulación de software que permita la evaluación y prueba de diferentes configuraciones de excitación y recepción acústica utilizando la flexibilidad de un modelo de computadora sea de una gran utilidad y ayuda.El objetivo de la presente tesis es proveer al área de los END con un software de simulación gratuito: The LAMB Matlab® toolbox basado en el modelo del software libre de la GNU.El software es capaz de simular el comportamiento de sistemas de END basados en ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire en láminas isótropas simples utilizando transductores tipo array.El programa se basa en un arreglo tipo C-scan de un sistema de END y está compuesto por tres bloques principales: 1) Excitación, 2) Propagación y 3) Recepción.La verificación individual del funcionamiento de dichos módulos se presenta a lo largo de la tesis mediante una serie de comparaciones entre simulaciones y datos experimentales provenientes de diferentes pruebas. Por otro lado, la validación del programa completo se llevo a cabo por medio de experimentos en láminas de cobre y aluminio; utilizando un sistema real de END por ondas de Lamb acopladas en aire mediante arrays cóncavos.La influencia negativa en el desempeño general de dicho sistema de END real basado en este tipo de transductores se comprobó efectivamente mediante el simulador desarrollado. Esto se debió fundamentalmente al efecto de directividad de los sensores individuales en los transductores y a la simetría cóncava de los arrays.Para emular este comportamiento la tesis presenta un modelo geométrico bidimensional simple de un filtro espacial, junto a las simulaciones de un nuevo tipo de array plano propuesto.El programa desarrollado comprobó así mismo la naturaleza coherente de los campos acústicos emitidos en aire por las láminas sujetas a vibraciones de Lamb. Esto se realizó mediante la implementación de un conformador de haz simple de suma y demora; constituyéndose así la etapa inicial de procesamiento de señal del bloque de recepción del programa.El objetivo principal del presente trabajo fue contribuir con un modelo operativo de simulación y prueba de nuevos diseños de arrays e implementación de estrategias de procesado de señal útiles en sistemas de END basados en ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire.Finalmente, si bien el objetivo de la calibración del programa no se pudo conseguir; si se logró efectivamente un notable grado de similitud con un sistema de END real.Air-coupled ultrasonic Lamb waves represent an important advance in Non- Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT & NDE) techniques of plate materials and structures. Examples of these advances are the characterization and quality assessment of laminate materials in manufacturing processes, the location of damaged parts in aircrafts and structure monitoring in the aerospace industry.However the rich and complex nature of mechanical vibrations encountered in acoustics make the subject of analysis and study of these systems a very complex task. Therefore a simulation tool that permits the evaluation and testing of different configuration scenarios using the flexibility of a computer model is an invaluable aid and advantage.The objective of this thesis is to provide the field of NDT with free open source software i.e. the LAMB Matlabrtoolbox. The toolbox is capable of simulating the behaviour of Lamb wave based NDE systems for single ideal isotropic laminates using air-coupled ultrasonic arrays. The programme usesa pitch-catch type of a Cscan NDE arrangement and is composed of three integrated sections each individually modelling a feature in the system: 1) Excitation, 2) Propagation, and 3) Reception.For assessment of the individual modules of the toolbox the thesis presents comparisons between each section simulations and the data obtained from different acoustic experiments. The validation of the complete simulator was carried out by evaluation tests on the copper and aluminium plates by use of a real hardware prototype of a Lamb wave based NDE system with aircoupled concave arrays.The negative impact on the performance of the real air-coupled NDE systembased on concave arrays was effectively confirmed by the programme. This was produced by the inherent directivity of the individual sensors as well as their concave arrangement. To emulate this behaviour the thesis introduces a simple two-dimensional geometric model for the inclusion of the spatial filtering effect of the sensors plus a group of simulations for a new proposed air-coupled plane array transducer.The software also verified the spatial coherent nature of the Lamb wave fields emitted by a plate in air. This was demonstrated by the implementation of a delay and sum beamformer to constitute an initial signal processing stage in the reception section

Oil transmissions pipelines condition monitoring using wavelet analysis and ultrasonic techniques

Proper and sensitive monitoring capability to determine the condition of pipelines is desirable to predict leakage and other failure modes, such as flaws and cracks. Currently methods used for detecting pipeline damage rely on visual inspection or localized measurements and thus, can only be used for the detection of damage that is on or near the surface of the structure. This thesis offers reliable, inexpensive and non-destructive technique, based on ultrasonic measurements, to detect faults within Carbon steel pipes and to evaluate the severity of these faults. The proposed technique allows inspections in areas where conventionally used inspection techniques are costly and/or difficult to apply. This work started by developing 3D Finite Elements Modelling (FEM) to describe the dynamic behaviour of ultrasonic wave propagations into the pipe’s structure and to identify the resonance modes. Consequently, the effects of quantified seeded faults, a 1-mm diameter hole of different depths in the pipe wall, on these resonance modes were examined using the developed model. An experimental test rig was designed and implemented for verifying the outcomes of the finite element model. Conventional analysis techniques were applied to detect and evaluate the severity of those quantified faults. However, those signal processing methods were found ineffective for such analysis. Therefore, a more capable signal processing technique, using continuous wavelet techniques (CWT), was developed. The energy contents of certain frequency bands of the CWT were found to be in good agreement with the model predicted responses and show important information on pipe’s defects. The developed technique is found to be sensitive for minor pipe structural related deficiencies and offers a reliable and inexpensive tool for pipeline integrity management programs

Analytical Ultrasonics in Materials Research and Testing

Research results in analytical ultrasonics for characterizing structural materials from metals and ceramics to composites are presented. General topics covered by the conference included: status and advances in analytical ultrasonics for characterizing material microstructures and mechanical properties; status and prospects for ultrasonic measurements of microdamage, degradation, and underlying morphological factors; status and problems in precision measurements of frequency-dependent velocity and attenuation for materials analysis; procedures and requirements for automated, digital signal acquisition, processing, analysis, and interpretation; incentives for analytical ultrasonics in materials research and materials processing, testing, and inspection; and examples of progress in ultrasonics for interrelating microstructure, mechanical properites, and dynamic response

A Survey on Subsurface Signal Propagation

Wireless Underground Communication (WUC) is an emerging field that is being developed continuously. It provides secure mechanism of deploying nodes underground which shields them from any outside temperament or harsh weather conditions. This paper works towards introducing WUC and give a detail overview of WUC. It discusses system architecture of WUC along with the anatomy of the underground sensor motes deployed in WUC systems. It also compares Over-the-Air and Underground and highlights the major differences between the both type of channels. Since, UG communication is an evolving field, this paper also presents the evolution of the field along with the components and example UG wireless communication systems. Finally, the current research challenges of the system are presented for further improvement of the WUCs