Evaluation of acoustic emission source localization accuracy in concrete structures. (November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Fengqiao; Pahlavan, Lotfollah; Yang, Yuguang
• Is Part Of: Structural health monitoring. Volume 19:Number 6(2020)
• Page Start: 2063
• Page End: 2074
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Subjects: Acoustic emission source localization -- concrete structures -- crack -- arrival time picking error -- accuracy; Structural health monitoring -- Periodicals; Structural stability -- Periodicals; Strength of materials -- Periodicals; Nondestructive testing -- Periodicals; Constructions -- Stabilité -- Périodiques; Résistance des matériaux -- Périodiques; Contrôle non destructif -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 624.17
• DOI: 10.1177/1475921720915625
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1475-9217

Abstract

Acoustic emission source localization is a promising monitoring technique for concrete structures. However, the accuracy of acoustic emission source localization is influenced by many factors, such as the presence of cracks, which are commonly observed in existing reinforced concrete structures. In this article, the acoustic emission source localization is evaluated using a numerical model with a total number of 11, 827, 200 independent simulated tests. In this work, the investigated influential factors include the presence of cracks, arrival time picking error, and senor layout. The accuracy of source localization is quantified by the characteristic error defined in this article. Using the proposed wave propagation properties, a relatively stable characteristic error of 150 mm is estimated in the detection zone with the maximum sensor spacing less than 1 m. The evaluation approach and simulated characteristic error are validated experimentally by comparing the 200 manually generated signals using hammer hits on a cracked concrete beam.