A Study on the Application of the Acoustic Emission Method for Steel Bridges

This research presents an experimental application of the acoustic emission (AE) method to in-service steel bridges. Continuous AE monitoring of steel plates with an intentional notch was performed both in the field and in the laboratory using the guard sensor technique and the location technique. Results of this research show that the AE method is able to clearly and reliably detect the large crack both in the field and in the laboratory. The guard sensor technique and the location technique worked well. A filter was developed to eliminate the noise in the bridge test. The results indicate that the AE method has the potential to be a good inspection tool for in-service steel bridges.