Acoustic emission source location on plate-like structures using a small array of transducers

摘要

A small non-colinear transducer array for omnidirectional acoustic emission monitoring is disclosed. The small transducer array consists of four piezoelectric sensor elements of sufficiently small diameter as to function as essentially point receivers and of sufficient frequency response as to be sensitive to the signals to be detected. The sensor elements of the transducer array are close together and are non-colinear so that the signals received by them can be used for determining the group velocity of acoustic waves on solid plates and on plate-like structures such as shells and pipes, and to permit determination of both the source direction and distance. The array is designed to monitor the region exterior to the area enclosed by the array, and the ratio of the smallest distance between sensors to the radius of a single transducer element is relatively large in order to minimize measurement errors introduced by undertainties in transducer element positions caused by large transducer sizes with respect to the acoustic waves being received.