Accoustic Emission Source Location

The objective of the research program was development of reliable source location techniques. The study comprised two phases. First, the research focused on development of source location methods for homogeneous plates. The specimens used in the program were steel railroad tank cars. Source location methods were developed and demonstrated for empty and water filled tanks. The second phase of the research was an exploratory study of source location method for fiber reinforced composites. Theoretical analysis and experimental measurement of wave propagation were carried out. This data provided the basis for development of a method using the intersection of the group velocity curves for the first three wave propagation modes. Simplex optimization was used to calculate the location of the source.

Additional source location methods have been investigated and critically examined. Emphasis has been placed on evaluating different methods for determining the time of arrival of a wave.

The behavior of wave in a water filled tank was studied and source location methods suitable for use in this situation have been examined through experiment and theory. Particular attention is paid to the problem caused by leaky Lamb waves.

A preliminary study into the use of neural networks for source location in fiber reinforced composites was included in the research program. A preliminary neural network model and the results from training and testing data are reported.