Acoustic emission from low-cycle high-stress-intensity fatigue

This paper presents the findings of an Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) study, the overall objective of which was to develop a nondestructive testing technique to determine flaw criticality based on acoustic emission. The research included an evaluation of sensors and instrumentation systems, using several materials and material conditions loaded in low-cycle, high-stress-intensity fatigue.The materials used for the study were D6aC tempered at 600 and 1100°F, annealed and solution-treatedand-aged 6A1-4V titanium and 7075-T6 aluminum. The test specimen was the precracked, single-edgenotch tension specimen; macrocracking was detected by crack-opening-displacement (COD) gage and micro-cracking by acoustic emission. The acoustic-emission system utilized 400 and 1000 kHz band-pass filtering at 100db gain. The output signals of the totalizer and the COD gage were recorded on a single strip chart using a dual-pen recorder. The specimens were subjected to low-cycle, high-stress-intensity fatigue at 6 c/min. In some tests, cycling was begun in air and finished in water.Acoustic emission was demonstrated to be highly effective as a non-destructive test method for following crack growth in low-cycle high-stress-intensity fatigue; acoustic emission confirmed the existence of periods of dormancy punctuated by periods of active fatigue crack growth. Using a dual-pen, strip-chart recorder displaying both crack-opening-displacement and stress-wave count on the same chart, it was a simple matter not only to observe if there was crack growth in each individual cycle but also where in the cycle it occurred. Moreover, the process of stress-corrosion cracking during low-cycle, high-stress-intensity fatigue was readily detected by a marked increase in the stress-wave count rate.The utility of acoustic emission as a precursor of imminant failure was demonstrated for low-cycle, high-stress-intensity fatigue as well as for the case of environmentally assisted fatigue. Plots of cumulative stress-wave count vs cycle number consistently showed a marked increase in count rate several (10–20 or more) cycles before fracture.     

Acoustic emission detection of fatigue cracks in wind turbine blades based on blind deconvolution separation

The occurrence and expansion of fatigue cracks in large wind turbine blades may lead to catastrophic blade failure. Each fatigue phase of a material has been associated with a typical set of acoustic emission (AE) signal frequency components, providing a logical base for establishing a clear connection between AE signals and the fatigue condition of a material. The relevance of efforts to relate recorded AE signals to a material's mechanical behaviour relies heavily on accurate AE signal processing. The main objective of the present study is to establish a direct correlation between the fatigue condition of a material and recorded AE signals. We introduce the blind deconvolution separation (BDS) approach because the result of AE monitoring is usually a convoluted mixture of signals from multiple sources. The method is implemented on data acquired from a fatigue test rig employing a wind turbine blade with an artificial transverse crack seeded in the surface at the base of the blade. Two different sets of fatigue loading were conducted. The convoluted signals are collected from the AE acquisition system, and the weak crack feature is extracted and analysed based on the BDS algorithm. The study reveals that the application of BDS‐based AE signal analysis is an appropriate approach for distinguishing and interpreting the different fatigue damage states of a wind turbine blade. The novel methodology proposed for fatigue crack identification will allow for improved predictive maintenance strategies for the glass‐epoxy blades of wind turbines. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that the AE signals generated by a fatigue crack on a wind turbine blade can be synchronously separated and identified. Characterizing and assessing fatigue conditions by AE monitoring based on BDS can prevent catastrophic failure and the development of secondary defects, as well as reduce unscheduled downtime and costs. The possibility of using AE monitoring to assess the fatigue condition of fibre composite blades is also considered.     

Principal Component Analysis of Acoustic Emission Signals From Landing Gear Components: An Aid to Fatigue Fracture Detection

Abstract: This work forms part of a larger investigation into fatigue crack detection using acoustic emission (AE) during landing gear airworthiness testing. It focuses on the use of principal component analysis (PCA) to differentiate between fatigue crack propagation (FCP) signals and high levels of background noise. An artificial AE fracture source was developed and additionally five sources were used to generate differing artificial AE signals. Signals were recorded from all six artificial sources in a real landing gear component subject to no load. Furthermore, artificial FCP signals were recorded in the same component under airworthiness test load conditions. PCA was used to automatically differentiate between AE signals from different source types. Furthermore, successful separation of artificial FCP signals from a very high level of background noise was achieved. The presence of a load was observed to affect the ultrasonic propagation of AE signals.     

Simulation of Acoustic Emission in Planar Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Specimens

The simulation of acoustic emission waveforms resulting from failure during mechanical loading of carbon fiber reinforced plastic structures is investigated using a finite element simulation approach. For this investigation we focus on the dominant failure mechanisms in fiber reinforced structures consisting of matrix cracking, fiber breakage and fiber-matrix interface failure. To simulate the failure process accurately, we present a new acoustic emission source model that is based on the microscopic source geometry and micromechanical properties of fiber and resin. We demonstrate that based on this microscopic source model these failure mechanisms result in excitation of macroscopic plate waves. The propagation of these plate waves is described using a macroscopic three-dimensional model geometry which includes contributions of reflections from the specimen boundaries. We further present a model of the acoustic emission sensors used in experiments to simulate the influence of aperture effects. To enhance the understanding of correlation between macroscopically detectable acoustic emission signals and microscopic failure mechanisms we simulate the response to different source excitation times, crack surface displacements and displacement directions. The results obtained show good agreement with fundamental assumptions about the crack process reported by various other authors. The simulated acoustic emission signals obtained are compared to experimentally measured waveforms during four-point bending experiments of carbon fiber reinforced plastic structures. The simulated signals of fiber-breakage, matrix-cracking and fiber-matrix interface failure show systematic agreement with the respective experimental signals.     

疲劳荷载对橡胶混凝土损伤和断裂性能的影响

虽然橡胶混凝土塑性和疲劳性能较好,但由于掺入橡胶,其在疲劳荷载下离散性增大,损伤过程及最终的断裂机制均不明确。为研究橡胶混凝土在疲劳荷载下的损伤和断裂性能,基于声发射开展了不同橡胶掺量的混凝土在疲劳荷载下的三点弯曲疲劳断裂试验。计算有效裂缝长度,分析疲劳荷载下不同橡胶掺量的混凝土裂缝长度a的变化规律,并利用裂缝长度a和声发射累积能量E_AE分别定义了损伤变量D_a和D_AE;分析疲劳荷载下不同橡胶掺量的混凝土断裂能G_F的变化规律;利用声发射中的信号持续时间分析疲劳荷载下橡胶混凝土中裂缝出现和扩展的规律。结果表明,混凝土的断裂能随橡胶掺量的增加呈线性增加;在疲劳荷载下,裂缝长度a和D_a均呈倒S型规律变化,而D_AE呈正S型规律变化;声发射信号持续时间表明,在疲劳荷载下,橡胶混凝土中的裂缝总在荷载较小时出现或发生扩展。      

Acoustic Emission-Based Methodology to Evaluate Delamination Crack Growth Under Quasi-static and Fatigue Loading Conditions

The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of acoustic emission (AE) technique to evaluate delamination crack in glass/epoxy composite laminates under quasi-static and fatigue loading. To this aim, double cantilever beam specimens were subjected to mode I quasi-static and fatigue loading conditions and the generated AE signals were recorded during the tests. By analyzing the mechanical and AE results, an analytical correlation between the AE energy with the released strain energy and the crack growth was established. It was found that there is a 3rd degree polynomial correlation between the crack growth and the cumulative AE energy. Using this correlation the delamination crack growth was predicted under both the static and fatigue loading conditions. The predicted crack growth values was were in a good agreement with the visually recorded data during the tests. The results indicated that the proposed AE-based method has good applicability to evaluate the delamination crack growth under quasi-static and fatigue loading conditions, especially when the crack is embedded within the structure and could not be seen visually.     

金属材料声发射信号特征提取方法

试图通过对声发射信号的检测实现对水轮机转轮叶片金属疲劳裂纹的在线监测。利用美国PAC公司SAMOS声发射检测系统采集到声发射的各种参数：针对大型水轮机现场环境的情况,选用了四种声发射信号。通过BP神经网络和模式识别结合的方法,设计特征提取器来提取金属材料疲劳声发射特征信号。比较神经网络输人参数对输出结果的灵敏度,选择出一些对分类识别最有效的特征参数：并采用可分离性判据进一步验证其正确性。最后,在13个声发射特征参数中,质心频率、计数、持续时间、上升时间、平均信号电平等五个参数的特征最为显著,可以用于识别现场环境下的声发射信号。     

MECHANISTICALLY BASED MODELS FOR THE PREDICTION OF FATIGUE DAMAGE IN A BETA TITANIUM ALLOY

This paper presents the results of recent studies of the micromechanisms of room temperature fatigue damage elucidated in a metastable beta Ti15V3Cr3Al3Sn alloy. The fatigue damage mechanisms observed include: grain boundary sliding, crack initiation/propagation, and crack coalescence prior to the onset of catastrophic failure. Mechanistically based models are presented for the prediction of fatigue damage (plasticity and cracking). The models are based on fracture mechanics idealizations of the complex damage modes observed during fatigue experiments, in which acoustic emission signals were collected from deformed sections. Following appropriate noise filtration and careful analysis of the detected acoustic emission signals, the number of counts due to cracking is shown to represent a scalar measure of damage. A modified power law expression (modified Paris law) is also proposed to describe the relationship between the cracking count rate and the effective stress intensity factor. Estimates of the fatigue lives are obtained by integrating between appropriate limits, after the separation of variables in the modified Paris law expression. The measured and predicted fatigue lives were generally in good agreement.     

Analysis of Acoustic Emissions from a Steel Bridge Hanger

A steel bridge hanger with three fatigue cracks was monitored for acoustic emission (AE) using combined source location, strain gauge monitoring, and waveform analysis. AE activities from all three cracks were clearly identified and classified as crack growth or noise signals using location, strain magnitude, position on strain cycle, and uniqueness of waveforms as the primary criteria. A vast majority of AE from the cracks was found to be due to crack face rubbing and the crushing of corrosion products between the crack faces while limited crack growth emissions were detected. Results from laboratory tests on A588 compact tension specimens under variable-amplitude tension-tension fatigue loading were used to aid in interpreting AE data from the hanger. Crack growth AEs from these tests were detected only on overload cycles mostly above 92% of the maximum load while AE due to crack face rubbing occurred throughout the load cycle.     

Acoustic emission study of corrosion fatigue crack propagation mechanism for LY12CZ and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys

Acoustic emission signals were continuously monitored during fatigue crack propagation for LY12CZ and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys in laboratory air and 3.5% NaCl solution. The results showed that the acoustic emission count rate was as a linear function of crack propagation rate during fatigue and corrosion fatigue. The acoustic emission activity for LY12CZ was smaller in solution than that in air; but for 7075-T6, greater in solution than that in air. The acoustic emission waveform parameter, the frequency centroid ratio, was tried to use as a criterion to distinguish the corrosion fatigue crack propagation mechanism for anodic dissolution of LY12CZ and hydrogen embrittlement of 7075-T6.     

Acoustic emission from stress corrosion cracks in aligned GRP

Acoustic emission (AE) produced by the propagation of stress corrosion cracks in an aligned glass fibre/polyester resin composite material has been recorded. Tests have been carried out over a range of crack growth rates and the variation of AE with crack velocity/applied stress intensity has been examined. The main source of AE is fibre fracture and there is a one-to-one relationship between the number of fibre fractures and the number of high-amplitude AE signals. This enables crack growth to be monitored directly from acoustic emission. The amplitude of AE signals produced by fibre failure appears to be proportional to the fracture stress of the fibres, although further analysis requires a greater understanding of the generation, transmission and detection of AE signals. This work demonstrates that stress corrosion cracking is an ideal source for the study of AE produced by fibre fracture without complications caused by interface effects, such as fibre debonding or pullout.On leave from the Technical University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland.     

海洋平台油气管道疲劳裂纹AE信号特征提取及识别研究

为了将声发射(AE)技术实际应用到监测海洋平台油气管道疲劳裂纹中,需要解决管道振动干扰以及疲劳裂纹AE信号有效特征提取的问题,而问题的关键在于对管道结构疲劳裂纹AE信号特征提取及识别算法的研究。在已有研究的基础上,提出了一种基于经验模态分解(EMD)为特征提取的疲劳裂纹识别方法,将管道振动干扰问题和疲劳裂纹AE信号有效特征提取问题联系在一起,对特征元素进行优化并剔除无效噪声干扰信息,通过概率神经网络(PNN)对疲劳裂纹信号进行识别。试验结果表明,PNN结合基于EMD为特征提取的疲劳裂纹识别法能够取得良好的效果,为声发射技术监测海洋平台油气管道疲劳裂纹提供了试验和理论依据。     

Investigations of delamination criticality and the transferability of growth criteria

This article describes a study of delamination growth along 0 °/0 °, 0 °/ 5 °, ± 5 °, and 0 °/90 ° interfaces sandwiched between unidirectional carbon fibre/epoxy composite material. Relationships between damage criticality, growth rate and acoustic emission activity for delamination growth have been studied and the transferability of results from laboratory coupons to composite structural elements has been examined. Two types of coupon tests, conventional delamination beams and rigidly loaded single edge notched strips, have been compared for different mode ratios. Comparative tests have been made on buckling-induced delamination in plates. A graphite crack gauge has been used to measure delamination length and growth rate, ranging from 0.05–2000 m/s. Damage growth was also followed using visual, ultrasonic C-scan, X-ray radiography, macro-video and acoustic emission measurements. Empirical evaluations of interlaminar toughness for delamination beams are made using the Irwin-Kies relation. Unstable growth is analysed using elasto-dynamic moving finite elements. Bucklinginduced delamination is analysed using plate/shell FE methods with growth/remeshing algorithms.     

Effects of loading and sample geometry on acoustic emission generation during fatigue crack growth: Implications for structural health monitoring

The reliability of traditional non-destructive methods for crack detection is well understood and characterised using Probability of Detection (POD) curves. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques in contrast remain largely unquantified. The performance of the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique for damage detection and location in potential SHM applications is underpinned by the intensity of AE signal generation from the damage site. In this paper, factors influencing the rates of emission of Acoustic Emission (AE) signals from propagating fatigue cracks were investigated. Fatigue cracks were grown in specimens made from 2014 T6 aluminium sheet while observing the effects of changes in crack length, loading spectrum and sample geometry on rates of acoustic emission. Significant variation was found in the rates of AE signal generation during crack progression from initiation to final failure with a number of distinct phases identified in that progression implying different failure mechanisms operating at particular stages in the failure process. A new ‘probability of hit’ method for quantifying crack detecting capability using AE is also presented.     

Prediction of low-cycle fatigue-life by acoustic emission—1: 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

Low-cycle fatigue tests were conducted by tension-tension until rupture, on a 2024-T3 aluminum alloy sheet. Initial crack sizes and orientations in the fatigue specimens were found to be randomly distributed. Acoustic emission was continuously monitored during the tests. Every few hundred cycles, the acoustic signal having the highest peak-amplitude, was recorded as an extremal event for the elapsed period. This high peak-amplitude is related to a fast crack propagation rate through a phenomenological relationship. The extremal peak amplitudes are shown by an ordered statistics treatment, to be extremally distributed. The statistical treatment enables the prediction of the number of cycles left until failure. Predictions performed a posteriori based on results gained early in each fatigue test are in good agreement with actual fatigue lives. The amplitude distribution analysis of the acoustic signals emitted during cyclic stress appears to be a promising nondestructive method of predicting fatigue life.     

金属疲劳断裂的声发射检测技术

疲劳断裂是金属结构的主要失效形式,通过金属疲劳断裂时声发射特征参数的提取,建立了声发射特征参数和裂纹扩展速率之间的关系,由试样的三点弯曲疲劳试验,证明采用声发射技术监测疲劳裂纹的扩展,不仅与疲劳裂纹扩展的变化规律相似,而且能实时的捕捉到疲劳裂纹的产生。     

Methodical approach to the experimental acoustic-emission evaluation of the crack resistance of structural materials

We develop a general approach to the determination of the characteristics of crack resistance of structural materials by the method of acoustic emission. This approach includes the procedure of selection of acoustic signals from cracks and the proper choice of the most efficient parameters of acoustic signals, the operating frequency of the receiving circuit of an acoustic-emission device, and the location of an acoustic-emission transducer. It is shown that, in the process of propagation of a crack, acoustic radiation is directed and the frequency band of emitted acoustic signals becomes narrower in the stage of subcritical crack growth. Karpenko Physicomechanical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, L'viv. Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 17–30, September–October, 1997.     

Intralaminar fracture mechanism in unidirectional CFRP composites: Part I: Intralaminar toughness and AE characteristics

Three types of representative carbon fiber reinforced unidirectional composite materials were used and their intralaminar fracture behavior was investigated using the double-cantilever beam specimen with a simultaneous acoustic emission measurement. The intralaminar fracture toughness was evaluated by both the compliance method and energy area method. As a result, it was found that the intralaminar fracture toughness without bridging fibers had a constant value during crack propagation but it increased greatly when bridging fibers were present. The effect of bridging fibers on the intralaminar fracture toughness was estimated quantitatively by cutting the bridging fibers. Distinct differences in load–displacement curves, compliance, crack propagating behavior and acoustic emission signal characteristics between these three types of unidirectional composite materials were observed. It was also found that bridging fiber failure generated relatively large power spectra and contributed to the peak frequencies of 600–700 kHz in the spectrum analysis of acoustic emission (AE) signals. This suggested that the bridging fibers were also an important source of AE signals. Furthermore, a linear relationship between crack length and normalized cumulative AE event count rate was obtained.     

Fatigue lifetime prediction with the aid of SAW NDE

The present studies concentrated on predicting the remaining fatigue life for single fatigue cracks in the Paris regime of macrocrack propagation. Acoustic surface waves were used to interrogate the crack during cyclic fatigue. The inversion of the obtained scattering data provided crack depth and crack length as a function of the number of cycles applied in tension-tension fatigue. Auxiliary experiments were conducted to study the acoustic response of the crack to tensile and compressive loads, thought to open and close the crack. The technique may allow for new insights into the physics of the crack closure effect.     

Microstructural effects on the short crack behaviour of a stainless steel weld metal during low-cycle fatigue

An experimental study into microstructural effects on short fatigue crack behaviour of 19 stainless steel weld metal smooth specimens during low-cycle fatigue is performed by a so-called ‘effective short fatigue crack criterion’. This material has a mixed microstructure in which it is difficult to distinguish the grains and measure the grain diameter. The columnar grain structure is made up of matrix-rich δ ferrite bands, and the distance between the neighbouring rich δ ferrite bands is an appropriate measurement for characterizing this structure. Particularly, the effective short fatigue cracks (ESFCs) always initiate from the bands of δ ferrite in the matrix in the weakest zone on one of the specimen surface zones which is orientated in accordance with the inner or outer surface of welded pipe from which the specimens were machined. These cracks exhibit characteristics of the microstructural short crack (MSC) and the physically small crack (PSC) stages. The average length of the ESFCs at the transition between MSC and PSC behaviour is ≈40 μm, while the corresponding fatigue life fraction is ≈0.3 at this transition. Different from previous test observations, the growth rate of the dominant effective short fatigue crack in the MSC stage still shows a decrease with fatigue cycling under the present low-cycle fatigue loading levels. A statistical evolution analysis of the growth rates reveals that the short fatigue crack growth is a damage process that gradually evolves from a non-ordered (chaotic) to a perfectly independent stochastic process, and then to an ordered (history-dependent) stochastic state. Correspondingly, the microstructural effects gradually evolve from a weak effect to a strong one in the MSC stage, which maximizes at the transition point. In the PSC stage, the effects gradually evolve from a strong to weak state. This improves our understanding that the short crack behaviour in the PSC stage is mainly related to the loading levels rather than microstructural effects.