Fundamental developments for quantitative acoustic emission measurements

Abstract

This report describes a research program supported jointly by the Electric Power Research Institute and the National Bureau of Standards. The intent of this report is to present an in depth description of research and results of this program for the specialist; additional details are contained in the referenced papers resulting from this program. The work under Phase 1 of the EPRI/NBS AE program has focused on: improved test standardization through the development of a calibration capability for AE sensors; improved sensor concepts and techniques for field and laboratory calibration; an improved basis for understanding and predicting AE behavior through the development of a mathematical framework for AE (transfer function formalism) through specific theoretical solutions to AE generation, transmission and inversion problems and the successful application of these theories to actual events in glass; an improved basis for assessing defect significance through the development of improved signal processing and inversion methods and through experimental results from AE in pressure vessel steels; the implementation of experiments to establish the feasibility of using causal methods, based on theoretical mechanics, to obtain source information in structural steels.