Acoustic Emission Phenomenon Research Articles

Monitoring of insulator pollution discharge in overhead distribution network based on acoustic emission technology

Abstract During the continuous operation of the distribution network, dirt often accumulates on the surface of insulators. Once encountering a humid climate environment, it may cause accidental discharge, leading to the occurrence of flashover pollution accidents. In order to effectively monitor this issue, this study adopted a monitoring method based on acoustic emission technology. This article introduces the discharge process and acoustic emission phenomenon of insulators in overhead distribution networks under pollution conditions. By using emission signal detection devices, acoustic signals generated during insulator discharge are captured. And the wavelet denoising algorithm was used to process its signal, based on which the discharge characteristics of insulator pollution in the overhead distribution network were extracted. The emission amount of insulator pollution in the overhead distribution network was determined according to the set threshold, achieving monitoring of pollution emissions. The results indicate that the proposed method can accurately monitor the discharge of insulators in overhead distribution networks, provide scientific basis for timely maintenance measures, and improve the operational safety and reliability of distribution networks.

Signatures of fatigue crack growth from acoustic emission repeaters

Since the discovery of fatigue phenomena, scientific research has constantly sought to understand and anticipate the failure of materials due to fatigue to mitigate unforeseen accidents and malfunctions in various technical fields. Numerous studies using acoustic emission (AE) – a key method in non-destructive testing – have shown a correlation between acoustic activity and fatigue damage. However, these measurements suffer from the non-specific nature of AE signals, which may be due to various physical sources. To investigate further the mechanisms of AE emission associated with fatigue, we study the groups of acoustic signals generated by fatigue cracking in metals. These so-called acoustic multiplets are characterized by highly correlated waveforms, are repeatedly triggered over many successive loading cycles at nearby stress levels and originate from a single location. These acoustic signatures produced during the propagation of fatigue cracks in alloys are automatically detected by a dedicated algorithm, grouped into multiplets and analyzed to understand the physical mechanisms from which they originate. By synchronizing their detection with digital image correlation measurements of fracture mechanics quantities, the investigation of this acoustic emission phenomenon shows that two mechanisms are at the origin of the multiplets: repeated local friction over fracture surfaces, and incremental crack propagation in the Paris regime, probably due to the reactivation of crack tip plasticity at each cycle. These two multiplet types serve as acoustic signatures, distinctly indicating the existence and propagation of a fatigue crack.

Characterization of Acoustic Emissions from Concrete Based on Energy Activity Coefficient

Single-stage compression loading experiments were carried out on concrete specimens of various strengths to explore the characteristic parameters of the acoustic emission signal and its damage evolution law in the concrete damage process. These specimens were monitored in real time with acoustic emission and DIC instruments during the loading process, and internal pores and slices were scanned with CT scanning instruments after compression. The acoustic emission phenomenon was expressed using the energy activity coefficient, and the law relating to the phenomenon was summarized. The results show that when the peak and mean values in the first adjacent time domain grow rapidly, the specimen produces a large crack and enters the stage of rapid crack development, which can be taken as an indication of the impending damage to the specimen. The energy activity coefficient reflects the damage development intensity as follows: the smaller the energy activity coefficient, the more the cracks developed; the faster the speed, the larger the deformation. With an increase in the load level, the energy activity coefficient gradually tends to stabilize, and the specimen enters the stage of rapid crack development. However, when the energy activity coefficient suddenly increases again, the specimen is destabilized and destroyed. Therefore, the energy activity coefficient responds to the degree of congenital defects in the specimen. As the load increases, the energy activity coefficient is more stable, and the defects are smaller; in contrast, the energy activity coefficient drastically oscillating indicates that the material is very defective.

Study on the keyhole oscillation mechanism of laser welding based on electro-mechano-acoustical analogy theory

The acoustic emission phenomena generated by the laser welding process are closely related to the keyhole's forced oscillation and the dynamic pressure balance at the keyhole bottom. In this study, we constructed the mechanical equation of keyhole bottom pressure balance and used the “electro-mechano-acoustical” analogy theory to convert it into an acoustic equation, the acoustic resonant frequency as well as the magnification amplification factor of the keyhole oscillation in different penetration states were derived. A monitoring platform combining acoustic sensor and high-speed photography was established to obtain acoustic emission signals and lateral keyhole images. The acoustic and image features extracted from the monitoring data validated the derived formulas. Additionally, the acoustic phenomena of different frequency-energy components were explained according to the derived formulas in turn. The results demonstrated that the derived theory is compatible with experimental comparisons, showcasing its great interpretability and applicability. The introduced analogy theory effectively establishes a bridge between keyhole forced pressure and acoustic emission vibration, aiding in the understanding of keyhole oscillation characteristics. A novel model of keyhole oscillation was proposed and verified using process monitoring data in this study, which provides a new approach for the investigation of keyhole dynamic.

Acoustic emission monitoring for engineered barriers in nuclear waste disposal

To safely dispose of nuclear waste in underground facilities, engineered barrier systems are needed to seal shafts and galleries. The material used in these barriers must be adapted to the host rock parameters. Shrinking and cracking must be avoided to provide a barrier with almost zero permeability. For repositories in salt rock environments, several types of salt concrete (SC) are used. Within the project SealWasteSafe, we compared the performance of an innovative alkali-activated material (AAM) with standard SC in their hydration and hardening phase. To monitor the microstructural changes within the two materials SC and AAM, acoustic emission (AE) signals have been recorded for up to ~250 days on 340-liter-cubic specimens. The phenomenon of AE is defined as the emission of elastic waves in materials due to the release of localized internal energy. Such energy release can be caused by the nucleation of micro-fracture, e.g. in concrete while curing or when exposed to load. The occurrence of AE events gives first rough indications of microstructural changes and potentially occurring cracking and thus, provides insights for structural health monitoring (SHM). The results show, that for the first 28 days after casting, less AE activity was detected in the AAM compared to SC. After 61 days, in the AAM material, the number of AE events exceeded those observed in the SC. However, the majority of the AE detected in AAM was related to surface effects, and not to microstructural changes within the matrix. Additionally, the source location analysis indicated, that despite lower activity in SC, we observed some clustering of the events. In contrast, in AAM, the activity inside the specimen is randomly distributed over the whole volume. The monitoring results help to estimate the material’s sealing properties which are crucial to assess their applicability as sealing material for engineered barriers.

Mechanical Properties and Damage Constitutive Model of Thermally Damaged Basalt

Nuclear power is a high-quality clean energy source, but nuclear waste is generated during operation. The waste continuously releases heat during disposal, increasing the adjoining rock temperature and affecting the safety of the disposal site. Basalt is widely considered a commonly used rock type in the repository. This study of basalt’s mechanical characteristics and damage evolution after thermal damage, with its far-reaching engineering value, was conducted by combining experimental work and theory. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on basalt exposed to 25 °C, 500 °C, 700 °C, 900 °C, and 1100 °C conditions, and acoustic emission (AE) equipment was utilized to observe the acoustic emission phenomenon during deformation. This study was carried out to examine the mechanical characteristics, the sound emission features, the progression of damage laws, and the stress–strain framework of basalt after exposure to different types of thermal harm. As the temperature rises, the rock’s maximum strength declines steadily, the peak strain rises in tandem, the rock sample’s ductility is augmented, the failure mode changes from shear to tensile failure, and cracks in the failure area are observed. At room temperature, the acoustic emission signal is more vigorous than in the initial stage of rock sample loading due to thermal damage; however, after the linear elastic stage is entered, its activity is lessened. In cases where the rock approaches collapse, there is a significant surge in acoustic emission activity, leading to the peak frequency of acoustic emission ringing. The cumulative ring count of acoustic emission serves as the basis for the definition of the damage variable. At room temperature, the damage evolution of rock samples can be broken down into four distinct stages. This defined damage variable is more reflective of the entire failure process. After exposure to high temperatures, the initial damage of the rock sample becomes more extensive, and the damage variable tends to be stable with strain evolution. The stress–strain constitutive model of basalt deformation is derived based on the crack axial strain law and acoustic emission parameters. A powerful relationship between theoretical and experimental curves is evident.

Some aspects of monitoring of different processes in agriculture using acoustic emission phenomena

Some aspects of monitoring of different processes in agriculture using acoustic emission phenomena

Study on Acoustic Emission Characteristics and Damage Evolution Law of Shale under Uniaxial Compression

Investigating the correlation between acoustic emission (AE) parameters and damage mechanisms in rock mechanics can help understand rock damage evolution under loading and provide a theoretical basis for engineering support and safety detection. Therefore, this paper presents experimental works on the correlation between AE and failure mechanisms of rock mass under uniaxial compression stress, with the aim of capturing the damage evolution leading to a new damage constitutive model. The experimental results indicate that the uniaxial compression process of shale can be divided into four stages according to AE characteristics. AE signals are minimal during the crack compaction and elastic stages. The crack initiation strength σci, which is approximately 55% of the uniaxial compressive strength, is identified when the cumulative AE counts and damage factor begin to increase slowly. When axial stress reaches the damage strength σcd, which is approximately 80% of the uniaxial compressive strength, a significant number of AE signals are generated. AE phenomena can be observed during the unstable crack development and post-crack stages. Considering the initial damage to the rock, the damage factor D initially decreases and then increases with increasing cumulative ring-down counts rather than exhibiting a monotonic increase. The damage factor D is proportional to the cumulative AE counts N in the stage before rock failure.

Influence of pillar wide and room’s height on the acoustic emission phenomena during crack evolution

The present study probes the effects of pillar wide and room’s height on the failure mechanism of model using experimental test and numerical simulation. For this purpose, firstly gypsum specimens with dimension of 15*15*5 cm containing two neighboring rooms and one pillar were prepared. Pillar widths were 3 cm, 6 cm and 9 cm. In each pillar width, the roof height was 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, and 6 cm. Totally 9 physical specimens were tested. Concurrent with experimental tests, 18 numerical models were simulated. The results show that the pillar wide and roof height affect the failure pattern and compressive strength of models. Two different failure patterns were observed in the model. In the first stage, two tensile fractures were developed from room edge and propagated parallel to loading axis till coalescence with model boundary. In the second stage, mixed tensile-shear cracks were developed through the rock pillar. It is shown that with the augment of stress–strain curve until the peak, the AE hits of numerical specimens presents three stages. In the first stage, AE hits is almost zero; this step is in the elastic stage, and there isn’t any crack in the sample. In the second stage, AE hits is in a slowly increasing stage, which is due to the micro cracks in the model continuous expansion. In the third stage, the AE hits increase rapidly, because the rock almost enters its bearing limit and the crack propagation speed is very fast. Generally, the maximum value of AE is near the peak value. When the roof height is the same, different pillar wide led to a significant change in the maximum AE hits. The experimental test and numerical simulation show the similar outcomes.

Influence of specimen size on granite fracture characteristics and acoustic emission phenomena under mode I loading conditions

The rock mode I fracture characteristics and the size effect are of great significance in understanding the crack initiation, nucleation, propagation, and characterizing the fracture toughness of rocks which is essential for predicting the behavior of rock masses and designing underground structures. In this paper, three-point bending fracture experiments were carried out using single-edge notched beam specimens of different sizes. The fracture characteristics of the entire loading stage, including the post peak stage, were analyzed using digital image correlation (DIC) technology and acoustic emission (AE) technology. Specifically, the calculation of the b value uses the Fisher optimal split and global search algorithm (FGS) method. The results show that both the Fracture process zone (FPZ) length and fracture toughness of granite are size-dependent parameters, and the FPZ length growth rate increases with increasing load level. The failure mode of the source during fracture is mainly tensile failure, and the proportion of tensile failure tends to increase with the increase of specimen size. The temporal b value, average AF value and RA value show corresponding stage changes with time, and the minimum b value, minimum AF value and maximum RA value can characterize the maximum of macroscopic growth rate.

Investigation of dynamic response of drilling parameters and deformation characteristics of coal around borehole during multi-stage reaming in tectonic coal

Tectonic coal refers to the coal with varying degrees of brittle fracture or ductile deformation under the action of one or multi-period tectonic stresses, showing the characteristics of low mechanical strength, weak cohesion and large deformation. Therefore, drilling in tectonic coal is easy to cause the aperture shrinkage or closure due to the poor anti-deformation capability. Enlarging the initial borehole can effectively increase the borehole diameter and reduce the risk of pipe jamming and burying without changing the borehole structure. In order to investigate the dynamic evolution characteristics of drilling parameters in the process of drilling and reaming in tectonic coal, a self-designed drilling experimental system that can monitor drilling parameters in real time was used in this study. Additionally, the acoustic emission (AE) response and borehole wall strain were observed to study the coal-breaking and the deformation characteristics of coal around borehole. The results demonstrate that the drilling rate and drilling torque increase sequentially in the initial drilling, primary reaming and secondary reaming stages. The magnitude of drilling rate is affected by both drilling thrust and rotational speed, whereas drilling torque is mainly affected by drilling thrust. The intensity of AE phenomena increases gradually at different stages of the borehole formation, which means that the drilling efficiency is improved and more strain energy is accumulated in the coal around the borehole during reaming. The borehole wall strain effectively reflects the convergence deformation of borehole wall, that is, the larger the borehole diameter, the greater the deformation of the borehole wall. The deformation of borehole is mainly affected by the redistribution of stress in the coal body, rather than the drilling parameters.

Analysis of Acoustic Emission Energy Distribution and Avalanche Dynamics of Sandstone with Different Particle Sizes.

The mechanical properties of sandstone have an important impact on the stability of the coal mine roof and floor, sandstone gas mining, and underground engineering safety. In order to study the critical characteristics on the failure process of sandstone with different particle sizes under uniaxial compression conditions, avalanche dynamics theory and a critical model are used to analyze the distribution of acoustic emission (AE) parameters, and the maximum likelihood estimation is used to accurately estimate the critical parameters. The results showed that the AE phenomenon of sandstone can be divided into four stages: initial compaction period, quiet period, crack stable growth period and outbreak period. During the process of compression failure, the larger the particle size is, the more seriously the sandstone is damaged. The AE energy probability density distribution follows single power-law distribution, and the AE energy critical exponent is 1.20 and follows the characteristics of scale-free regarding the power-law distribution on the particle sizes. When the stress runs up to 90% of peak stress, the bifurcation ratio increases sharply and shows the characteristics of the critical state. The waiting time and the avalanche size distribution follow double power-law distribution, and the inflection points are 0.03 and 37. Before and after the inflection point, the waiting time critical exponent and the avalanche size critical exponent are 1.90, 0.40 and 2.40, 1.60. This shows that the dynamic evolution process of sandstone under uniaxial compression condition can be characterized well by the fiber bundle model.

Effects of un-parallel notches on the granite fracture properties and acoustic emission phenomena under biaxial test: PFC computation and experimental verification

To assess connections between these notches throughout fracture formation under stress, the mechanical performance of granite specimens with two non-parallel notches underwent a biaxial compression test. The first notch had a 45° angle, whereas the second had a variable angle (0°, 45°, 90°, 130°, and 180°). Three ligament angles (0°, 45°, and 90°) were measured between the inner tips of two notches and the horizontal axis. The ligament length, distance between the inner tips of the two notches, and both notch lengths were each 2 cm. These samples were examined at 0, 1, and 3 MPa confining pressures. By using the particle flow code (PFC), simulated results of the evaluations were run after the trials. It was discovered that the specimens’ failure strengths were influenced by the notch’s geometric characteristics, which in turn impacted the failure mechanism as well as fracture geometry. The number of tensile fractures had an impact on the specimens’ failure strengths. Whilst also increasing the ligament angle, more induced tensile cracks were produced. In the early stages of loading, just a few AE events were found, but after that, they multiplied quickly before approaching the peak stress. By raising the confining pressure, the AE hits were increased and delay failure was occured. The failure strength and AE hits are significantly impacted by the second notch’s angle. In constant ligament angel, the compressive strength of models containing overlapped joint were more than that with non-overlapped joints. In models containing non-overlapped notches, the model with ligament angles of 0° and 45° had maximum and minimum compressive strength, respectively. In models containing overlapped notches, the model with ligament angles of 90° and 45° had maximum compressive strength and minimum compressive strength, respectively. In all ligament angles, minimum compressive strength was occurred when the upper joint angle was 45°. Both the computational and experimental methodologies showed that the specimens’ failure pattern and compressive strength were very comparable.

Acoustic emission detection of micro-cracks under high pressure and high temperature in a deformation large-volume apparatus at the endstation P61B, PETRA III.

We successfully developed an in situ acoustic emission (AE) detection setup that allows recording of AE waveforms (triggered and streaming) and simultaneous x-ray diffraction and imaging on samples deformed at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions in the Aster-15 Large Volume Press at the synchrotron beamline station P61B. This high pressure AE detection system is a powerful tool to investigate AE phenomena from the HPHT chamber. Six commercial acoustic sensors, protected by a tungsten carbide support ring on each anvil of the same material, have excellent survivability throughout each successive experiment. By pulsing each sensor in succession, the average wave velocity through the anvils and cell assembly can be determined at any press load. The distance between the sensors is obtained by x-ray radiography and by logging the positions of each hydraulic ram. This provides a basis for accurately locating AE events in the sample. The feasibility of this AE detection setup was confirmed by compression and deformation test runs using several different self-designed AE sources in specialized assemblies. The present setup proves to be extremely efficient and accurate in measuring brittle processes in samples under HPHT. It is now available for applications for beam time and experiments without x rays at P61B. Combined with synchrotron x rays, in situ pressure, temperature, strain rate and stress, and phase changes can be monitored while recording AE activity. We provide a powerful tool to investigate the origin of earthquakes, for example, causing AE emissions due to brittle dehydration reactions or phase transformations in the Earth.

Analytical solution of acoustic emission in soft material with cracks by using reciprocity theorem

Special property in soft materials manifests itself as slight external action may occur significant changes in structure or performance followed by crack initiation and propagation. Characterizing the transition from a crack-free to a cracked soft material remains one of the most challenging problems in structural changes. New methods are needed to predict when and how these soft materials will fail due to defects. In this context, we explored the acoustic emission phenomenon of a crack generation with micro-nanometer size in rubber seal rings. We found through the reciprocity theorem and equivalent body forces that this tiny structural change is defined by the opening crack time function, crack opening body and elastic constant. We take rubber as an example and analyze the new application of acoustic emission and propose a methodology for near surface crack detection of soft materials. Additionally, we discuss the contributions of the opening crack time function, cyclic frequency and elastic constant. The present ‘acoustic emission applications’ strategy offers an effective pathway to observe soft materials' structural changes.

An Inversion Method Based on Inherent Similarity between Signals for Retrieving Source Mechanisms of Cracks

The knowledge of cracking mechanisms is significant for evaluating the healthy condition of aircraft structures and can be retrieved by moment tensor inversion based on the acoustic emission (AE) phenomenon. For engineering applications, the inversion method cannot compute accurate results because the waveforms recorded by sensors are commonly contaminated by noise. Consequently, the correlation calculation of de-noising is introduced into the inversion and sufficient correlation functions are needed. In this paper, the correlation function of raw waveforms is proposed and based on the inherent similarity between the signals induced by one source and recorded by different sensors. According to the synthetic tests, the error of the inversion method based on the new correlation function is approximately 1/10 of that of the commonly used amplitude method. Although the inversion accuracy is influenced by the phase differences and the ratio of noise frequency to signal frequency, the influence is limited and the new correlation function is suitable for most practical cases. The inversion method based on the new correlation function does not require the knowledge of noise spectra or any complex calculation processes and provides a new way to improve the inversion accuracy of cracking mechanisms with little additional computation consumption.

How a Li-Ion Battery Talks: Electrochemical and Mechanical Behaviors of the Battery Using in-Operando Acoustic Emission

Degradation of a Li-ion battery involves multiple mechanisms that are strongly coupled with each other. Th highly coupled nature of degradation mechanisms makes it complex to understand dynamic electrochemical and mechanical behaviors of the battery. In-operando acoustic emission (AE) technique can provide fundamental insights into the dynamic behaviors of the battery during operation. However, it remains unclear how different types of AE signals are linked to electrochemical and mechanical events occurring inside the battery. Here, we show our efforts to develop an in-depth acoustic analysis to correlate different types of AE waveforms with electrochemical and mechanical phenomena of the battery using a commercial, used battery pouch cell. The hits from the AE phenomena were analyzed using the waveforms and their Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to get the frequency spectra of the AE sources. Our results show how particle- and electrolyte-level fracture, gas generation, intercalation-induced stress processes are linked to different types of AE hits.

Phenomenological process of rebar corrosion in reinforced concrete evaluated by acoustic emission and electrochemical noise

Rebar corrosion was evaluated by monitoring reinforced concrete specimens. An electrical corrosion test accelerated the corrosion, and non-destructive evaluation of the acoustic emission (AE) and electrochemical noise (EN) was applied. Because AE phenomena were detected during rebar corrosion, the rise time and maximum amplitude increased, showing waveform variations. The AE activity was attributed to oxide film peeling of the rebar surface. The pitting index of the EN analysis ranged from –1 to 0, indicating localized corrosion. The EN method can detect pitting corrosion on rebar surfaces. AE and EN can be combined to phenomenologically evaluate early-stage rebar corrosion in concrete.

Characterizing vibration-assisted atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanomachining via perception of acoustic emission phenomena using a sensor-based real-time monitoring approach

The emerging atomic force microscope (AFM)-based nanolithography offers promising opportunities for nanopatterning applications. However, critical issues reside in the nanomachining process because the heterogeneous material properties and machine tool (AFM tip) quality variations can create significant uncertainties at this nanoscale. Therefore, in-process monitoring is essential for timely anomaly detection and real-time process characterizations. This paper reports a sensor-based monitoring approach that allows classifications of different conditions of vibration-assisted nanopatterning in real-time by automatically selecting acoustic emission spectral responses that distinguish different amounts of material removal. It opens up an avenue toward process characterizations and mechanisms discovery in vibration-assisted nanoscale manufacturing.

Characterization of Acoustic Emission Parameters during Fracture Process of Siltstone with Prefabricated Void

Due to the transfer of Lannigou gold mining from shallow to deep, a series of stability problems of surrounding rock have been caused. The drilling pressure relief technology has unique advantages in the control of mine pressure in high-stress roadways. In order to explore the damage effect of borehole pressure relief technology on rock, uniaxial compression and acoustic emission tests were carried out on siltstone specimens with borehole diameters of 8 mm, 12 mm, and 16 mm, respectively, and the acoustic emission signals of the whole process were collected simultaneously to explore the uniaxial compression of siltstone specimens with prefabricated holes in this paper. According to the statistical characteristics of acoustic emission, the damage law of siltstone specimens with prefabricated holes was explored from the microscopic point of view and the damage effect of drilling on siltstone specimens reflected by the acoustic emission phenomenon was revealed. The research results show that there are multiple stress drops before the deformation and failure of the rock sample with prefabricated drill holes; there is a positive correlation between the diameter of the drill hole and the power law index of the stress drop distribution; the acoustic emission activity of the rock during the deformation and failure process can be indirectly reflected the evolution of microfractures; the energy probability density function under different borehole diameters conforms to the power law distribution; the critical exponent obtained by the maximum likelihood estimation has an optimal plateau value, which can accurately characterize the power exponent of the energy distribution; the launch waiting time and aftershock sequence have a good power-law distribution in logarithmic coordinates. The research results provide a certain theoretical basis for the application of drilling pressure relief technology in southwestern Guizhou.