Using two-stage clustering of acoustic-emission signals for the detection of weld flaws

A two-stage method for the clustering of acoustic-emission (AE) signals using their parameters and digitized shapes was considered. AE signals were initially clustered according to a set of their informative parameters; the primary clusters that were obtained using these parameters were then subjected to clustering using their digitized AE signal shape. The use of two-stage clustering for the processing of AE signals that were recorded at the moment of welding allowed the calculation time to be reduced without loss of localization accuracy.     

A 32-Channel High-Speed Simultaneously Sampling Data Acquisition System

The system is intended for recording data in the multichannel diagnostic sections of experimental plasma facilities. It contains eight four-channel modules that record the shapes of single pulse signals, a controller module of the system bus of the crate, a fiber-optic communication line, and an interface card for connection to the ISA bus of a personal computer. The recording modules are based on 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with a sampling frequency of up to 50 MHz, ensuring a conversion accuracy equal to the least significant bit in a band of the input signal of up to 20 MHz. The ADC samples are fixed in 32-Kword/channel buffer storage units with a page organization. The current values of the amplitude of the input signals in all of the recording channels are measured simultaneously with a time jitter of no more than 0.2 ns. The software selects an amplitude conversion scale and a zero offset voltage value for each recording channel, as well as the current value of the sampling frequency for all the channels.     

高精度数据采集系统在近红外光谱测量仪中的应用

为了满足近红外测量对近红外光谱仪高精度的要求,采用AD公司的低噪声放大器ADA4841—1以及24位A／D芯片AD7767,设计了包括运算放大电路,A／D转换电路在内的数据采集系统。实现了对微弱信号的放大和A／D转换。用软件对采集的数字信号进行中值滤波后,将数据送到PC机进行算法分析。多次测试的结果表明,在采样速率为1kHz／s时,数据精度可达到13bit,满足了滤光片透射式近红外光谱仪的要求。     

Source location of acoustic emission in diesel engines

This paper is the third in a series developing methods of mapping acoustic emission (AE) signals and wave propagation in engines and focuses on source location techniques for the multi-source signals on relatively complex structures typical of machinery applications. Two source location techniques, a traditional wave velocity-based and an AE energy-based technique, using triangular sensor arrays, are used to locate source positions on the cylinder head of a 74 kW diesel engine using simulated sources (pencil lead break) and real sources (e.g. injectors (INJs) and exhaust valves during engine running).Source location using both techniques is demonstrated on the cylinder head of a 74 kW four-stroke diesel engine. The velocity-based technique uses AE wave speeds and time-of-flight (wave arrival time) to locate source position and is found to be most effective for single source signals with a sharp rising edge and good signal to noise ratios. The energy-based technique is based on a simple absorption attenuation model and was found to be useful for multiple source signals such as INJ signals, although structure-specific attenuation coefficients need to be measured for accurate source location.     

Detection and registration of ion clots in laser time-of-flight mass spectrometers

A number of factors influencing the measurement errors of analytic signals detected with secondary electron multipliers (SEMs) and registered with fast ADCs are analyzed. Such signals are generated in laser time-of-flight mass spectrometry at the stage of ion detection and recording of mass spectra. In particular, the effect of statistical factors and sources of systematic errors during both measurements of isotope ratios and elemental analysis is considered. Such errors as the statistics of formation of ion clots, the limited range of ADC records, discrimination during detection of ions of different masses, and others are considered. It is shown that, without taking into account the features of operation of SEMs and ADCs, both the statistical and systematic errors of measuring isotope ratios may reach several percent. The proposed operating modes of the detector, with allowance for its features, the design of the recording system, and use of formulas for calculating and correcting errors, allow their reduction to ～0.10–0.01%     

基于虚拟仪器的声发射信号处理平台

虚拟仪器代表着目前测试仪器领域的发展方向,LabVIEW语言是一种功能强大的仪器开发平台。声发射检测是一种动态无损检测方法,即在构件或材料的内部结构缺陷或潜在缺陷处于运动变化的过程中进行无损检测。本文设计了基于LabVIEW的声发射信号处理平台,硬件上采用美国PAC公司的PCI-2数据采集卡,满足对声发射信号的采集要求,软件平台可实现对声发射信号的小波分析、频谱分析、参数分析以及报警等功能。     

Inspection of locomotive bearing rings by the acoustic-emission method

The results of testing the bearing rings (BRs) of a locomotive axle box by the acoustic-emission (AE) method are presented. The small size of the localization zone of BRs leads to a significant spread of the coordinates of flaws even at minimal errors of the time of arrival of AE signals at piezoelectric-antenna probes. To refine the testing technique, the maximum testing load necessary for initializing AE signals is determined. Deformations in BRs are measured with a strain-gauging system related to the AE system. During recording of AE signals, the mechanical stresses are measured, thus allowing rejection of parasitic signals and an increase in the localization accuracy.     

磨削砂轮状态在线监测方法研究

提出了用声发射（AE）信号在线监测砂轮状态的方法.利用该方法可以监测工件材料、加工要求和磨削参数经常变化环境下的砂轮钝化程度和破碎情况;并采用神经网络建立了传感器信号与砂轮状态之间的非线性关系.     

Application of the Spectral Analysis of Acoustic Emission Signals to Studies of Vulnerability of TiN Coatings on Steel Substrates

A technique has been suggested for processing spectra of acoustic emission (AE) signals based on a signal classification using shapes of normalized spectral density curves. This enables one to calculate averaged spectral images of AE signal groups, which characterize specific types of AE sources, and to estimate intensities of various emission sources on various stages of deformation. The suggested technique has been used in estimating the TiN vulnerability when it is strained concurrently with the substrate.     

Detecting hazardous sources of acoustic-emission signals using the estimated energy of clusters

A method for detecting hazardous sources of acoustic-emission (AE) signals by the level of their energy activity using clustering by digitized signal shape was considered. The influence of the distance between a source and an AE transducer on the energy of recorded AE signals was analyzed. The energy distribution median of signals in a cluster was proposed for evaluating the hazard of an AE signal source. The application of the developed method was tested based on the example of the analysis of AE inspection data on the welding of steel specimens with incomplete fusion and a crack at the root of a weld seam. This testing confirms the results of the fractographic inspection of a defective weld seam.     

On-line data acquisition system for acoustic emission signals

An electronic system for processing and recording some very important parameters of acoustic emission signals at a relatively high speed is described. The system is applicable to almost any process in which acoustic emission is implemented for quality control. Data processing is done in real time. The processed data are ring-down count (threshold crossing), energy, duration, and time of occurrence of each acoustic emission burst.     

Phenomenological model of a response of a piezoelectric probe to acoustic-emission pulses

Parameters and characteristics of signals from a probe play an informative role in the solution of problems of evaluating the strength of structures by acoustic-emission (AE) techniques. The processes of signal formation in probes are complex and of random character, and the physics of formation of AE signals has not been well studied. Measuring processes are accompanied by inevitable noises. Under these circumstances, it is very important to develop a mathematical phenomenological model of AE signals from a probe so as to obtain processing algorithms. The fine structure of AE signals from a probe was analyzed using physical interpretations to develop an adequate model for application in processing algorithms.     

An impact source localization technique for a nuclear power plant by using sensors of different types

In a nuclear power plant, a loose part monitoring system (LPMS) provides information on the location and the mass of a loosened or detached metal impacted onto the inner surface of the primary pressure boundary. Typically, accelerometers are mounted on the surface of a reactor vessel to localize the impact location caused by the impact of metallic substances on the reactor system. However, in some cases, the number of accelerometers is not sufficient to estimate the impact location precisely. In such a case, one of useful methods is to utilize other types of sensor that can measure the vibration of the reactor structure. For example, acoustic emission (AE) sensors are installed on the reactor structure to detect leakage or cracks on the primary pressure boundary. However, accelerometers and AE sensors have a different frequency range. The frequency of interest of AE sensors is higher than that of accelerometers. In this paper, we propose a method of impact source localization by using both accelerometer signals and AE signals, simultaneously. The main concept of impact location estimation is based on the arrival time difference of the impact stress wave between different sensor locations. However, it is difficult to find the arrival time difference between sensors, because the primary frequency ranges of accelerometers and AE sensors are different. To overcome the problem, we used phase delays of an envelope of impact signals. This is because the impact signals from the accelerometer and the AE sensor are similar in the whole shape (envelope). To verify the proposed method, we have performed experiments for a reactor mock-up model and a real nuclear power plant. The experimental results demonstrate that we can enhance the reliability and precision of the impact source localization. Therefore, if the proposed method is applied to a nuclear power plant, we can obtain the effect of additional installed sensors.     

复合绝缘子压接质量监测仪的研制

复合绝缘子越来越广泛地应用于输电线路中，但其压接过程中的质量一直没有有效的方法进行监测。由于复合材料在变形过程中会出现声发射现象，并且随着变形或损伤的程度不同，其声发射信号的特征有所不同．分析这些特征可以对压接过程中绝缘子的压接质量进行判断根据此原理，构建了复合绝缘子的压接质量监测仪器，并且重点描述了系统软、硬件设计中的关键问题现场测试表明：基于声发射技术的监测仪在复合绝缘子压接质量判别上有着良好的效果。     

Development of the technique of clustering by acoustic emission signal parameters

The technique of clustering by a set of parameters of acoustic emission (AE) signals, which allows reducing the time of processing of the recorded data, is considered. A comparative analysis of the stability of three clustering techniques (by shape, leading edge rise rate, and a set of AE signal parameters) with respect to the effect of random noise distributed according to a normal law is performed. A possibility of using the considered clustering techniques for distinguishing different stages of duralumin specimen fractures and during welding of steel specimens is experimentally demonstrated.     

A 128-Channel Simultaneously Sampling Data Acquisition System for the Diagnostic Complex of Experimental Plasma Facilities

The simultaneously sampling data acquisition system contains 16 eight-channel modules, which record the shapes of single pulse signals, and the controller module of the system bus of the Eurocrate, which interacts with the basic computer of the diagnostic complex via an Ethernet-FX communication line supported by TCP/IP protocols. The recording modules are based on 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADC). The ADC samples are fixed in buffer storage units with a capacity of up to 1 Mword/channel. The current amplitudes of the input signals are measured simultaneously in all recording channels with a time jitter of 3 ns. The maximum sampling frequency is below 4 MHz.     

Acoustic emission method for research and control of friction pairs

One of the new physical methods that provides much information about the processes going on in a friction contact zone in real time is acoustic emission (AE). Basic experimental results of AE in friction are presented and analysed. Using AE signals we can get an indication about the state of the friction processes, about the quality of solid and liquid layers on the contacting surfaces in real time, sometimes about intensity of wear, changing of wear and friction regimes and so on. The influence of sliding velocity, load, roughness and some physical and mechanical properties of the body on the parameters of AE are also given. Some attention to the practical implementation of these techniques for control of capability for work of friction pairs in real conditions are given. Modern methods and devices enable condition monitoring of sliding and rolling bearings.     

Modular Hardware for the Recording and Preliminary Digital Processing of Data from Multiwire Proportional Chambers

The modular hardware is described that provides the recording and preliminary digital processing of coordinate data from multiwire proportional chambers operating with a large multiplicity of particles in high-intensity beams (up to 10⁶ particle/s per wire) of the 70-GeV accelerator from the Institute of High-Energy Physics. The digital section of the hardware (64-channel recording modules and controllers) is mounted in electronics racks located far from on-chamber preamplifiers–shapers of signals arriving from the multiwire proportional chamber. To match with the trigger signal, the hardware uses two signal delay stages (fixed cable and tunable cyclic-memory-based digital stages). The hardware searches for the useful data, processes it by the binary encoding to compress data arrays and optimize data formats before inputting into a computer.     

基于光纤光栅阵列和MVDR算法的声发射定位

基于光纤光栅(FBG)传感器网络构建了声发射检测系统,并提出了最小方差无失真响应(MVDR)的声发射源定位方法。构建的系统由7个FBG传感器组成传感器线阵列,采用未经平坦的放大自发辐射(ASE)光源边缘滤波实现信号解调。利用Shannon小波变换从频散复杂的声发射信号中提取窄带信号,并基于MVDR算法扫描整个监测区域获取空间谱。根据空间谱函数计算输出值,并将计算的输出值作为像素值。最后,通过提取空间谱中的最大值的坐标确定声发射源的位置。在LY12铝合金板上进行了实验验证。结果表明,该方法在400mm×400mm的区域内,声发射定位的最大误差为9.4mm,平均误差为7.2mm,耗时小于3s。该系统具有较高的实时性和定位精度,是一种声发射源定位的新方法。     

A New Scintillation Signal Former

The result of the addition of an exponentially shaped pulse (sharp leading edge, exponential trailing edge) to a pulse proportional to its integral (the integration time constant is equal to that of the exponential trailing edge) is a pulse whose top is horizontal (in parallel to a base line). This pulse is suitable for recording with the use of commercial serial binary-approach analog-to-digital converters. The described circuit is designed for checking the basic principle of operation of the former. The parameters of the circuits are brought closer to those necessary for processing the scintillation signals of NaI (Tl).