Developing and testing a laboratory system for recording and analysis of acoustic emission

A laboratory system for recording and analyzing acoustic emission was designed and experimentally investigated (tested). A block diagram and the operation algorithm of the system are presented. The relationship between the results of low-frequency, high-frequency, and statistical processing of recorded data and the physical features of input signals is shown using as an example simulated acoustic signals in the various units of the designed system. The system was tested on real test objects in the case of three-point bending of nitrided steel specimens with various thicknesses of the hardened surface layer. It is shown that crack formation leads to emission of signals with an amplitudes of up to 4 V, whereas during deformation in the absence of pronounced cracking, the amplitude of the amplified signal does not exceed 0.5 V.