Acoustic Testing for Shipping Industries

Abstract
Acoustic emission is the phenomena in which the acoustic or elastic waves
radiates in solids which occurs when the internal structure of a material
undergoes irreversible change, for example as a result of plastic deformation or
crack formation due to aging, external forces or temperature gradients. We will
see in this article that how by using acoustic emission, tests are performed
which will give a micro structural idea of the material and with its results and
proper analysis how we can determine the strengths and weaknesses of the
specimen and its durability. We will also see wide applications of this method
and how beneficial it is to various types of industries.

Keywords : Acoustic emission, acoustic emission testing, extraneous

noise, applications, advantages, limitations, summary.

Introduction
When there is a rapid release of localised stress energy, transient elastic waves
propagates within a material which is known acoustic emission. In particular the
processes of mechanical loading of structures and materials causes AE to occur
which are accompanied by changes in structure that generates elastic waves
locally. These elastic waves are stress waves produced results in small scale
surface displacements of a material which are generated when the elastic energy
which is accumulated inside a material on its surface is released rapidly. The
sources of AE generates waves which are of practical interest in the field of
structural health monitoring, system feedback, quality control, process
monitoring, etc.

Body
The term acoustic emission testing means the detection and recording of
acoustic emission using specialised equipment. When stress is applied on a
metal the imperfections and cracks present emit short bursts in discreet form of
elastic waves with high frequency which can be detected when specimens are
attached by piezoelectric sensors. This technique is very sensitive and those
defects which cannot be optically resolved can also be detected by this method.
It is a type of non destructive test which has huge engineering applications and
uses for example ensuring the integrity of structures of vessels, monitoring the
quality of the welding, determine the growth of cracks during pressurization,
etc. This process includes the involvement of the sensors which detects the
acoustic emission and then converting these waves into electrical signals so that
they can be finally recorded. Then one can study and analyse these results and
assess the condition of the material and find any defects, if present.

This process is done on the principal that once the load is reduced the sound
structure will stop emitting signals, and until the previous load is exceeded there
will be no kind of emission of further bursts.

Unwanted AE sources
Challenges might be posed to AE testing by the extraneous and unwanted noise
because in our AE data other various types of noise can also be recorded. In the
proposed AE testing the condition of severe noise can put our show to an end or
create problem in extracting the useful information in our post analysis. If not
completely eliminated, the extraneous noise must be at least controlled or
limited to a level in which we can conduct our test without facing any major
difficulties in interpretation and analysis.

The source of the extraneous noise need to be understood for effectively

controlling the noise. There are three category of the noise affecting the testing
of acoustic emission which are:

1. Mechanical noise such as fretting hitting and frictional rubbing that has
direct action on the the surface of structure or to the body through a load
joint.
2. The piezoelectric elements are affected by the temperature due to the the
thermally induced noise and other parameters such as thermal shock,
overheating or rapid change in temperature producers thermal stresses in
cables sensors and connectors.
3. Poor shielding or bad connection aur damage in the cables can cause
electrical magnetic interference which also includes antenna effect and
the the cross talking between adjacent cables

In most cases from the above points, an acceptable level of noise can be
eliminated or controlled. Some of the most common used countermeasures that
can control extraneous noise are adjusting gain and threshold for acquisition of
data, using guard sensors, selection of proper filters in preamplifiers,   software
filters that are parameter-based and quick fixes of the test conditions that create
the noise problem. In real world, however, there are cases in which by quick
and simple means the extraneous noise cannot be eliminated or controlled. In
these cases, if true information can be extracted from the resulted data with the
help of effective software filters and smart data analysis techniques, AE
techniques can be used.

Applications
AE testing is very versatile and subtle and it has many applications across a
variety of different industries. Some of its applications are: evaluation of
integrity of structure, detection of leakage, control in the quality of production,
in-field inspection, detection of active sources which includes propagation of
cracks, creep, fatigue, delamination of fiber, fracture of fiber and corrosion;
laboratory and studies for research and development.

It also has wide variety of applications in :

AET is used in aerospace sector to assess the aging of aircrafts, fuel storage
tanks and motors. It is also used by automotive manufacturers to assess the
components of vehicles and factory equipments. In chemical sector defects in
plant equipments and vessels can also be found by using AET. It can also be
used in nuclear power plants to inspect the nuclear components such as valves,
lift beams and steam lines. AET can also be used in in power transformer for
partial discharge detection. The product quality of pressure vessels can also be
ensured by using AET. Various types of transportation equipment can also be
tested such as railroad tank cars, motors, Marine vessels and more.

Advantages
 AET has its best use in early damage detection. It has the capability of
detection of the growth of flaws and cracks; it can detect defects that are
relatively small, quite early. Before causing significant issues, by early
detection, we can repair these flaws.
 Best advantage of AET is that it can be used when on a unit or machine
while it is still operating. Significant cost can be reduced by avoiding a
shutdown and keep the productivity level consistent.
 AET helps in the identification of defects that are active that means those
which are growing. Is seen that the defects or flaws that are likely to
create a significant problem in near future are identified, while the cracks
that are stable are not. This helps in saving money by not wasting it in
insignificant problems.

Limitations
 AET cannot provide quantitative result but qualitative only. It cannot
determine the depth of the size of the crack but it can only say that flaw
exists. For this is it needs another test methods like ultrasonic testing.
 As we know that AET identifies only flaws that are active which is an
advantage but in some cases we also need identification of defects that
are stagnant in which AET will fail in this purpose. Sometimes if the
loading is not enough which does not result an acoustic event then it is
possible that relatively minor active flaws may not be detected by AET.
 A case may arise when AET is performed in loud service environments
which can prove to be more challenging to get accurate results. Hence
signal discrimination and techniques like noise reduction and other
technologies are required so that the excess noise can be filtered out.
  Using the technique of AET is not easy and it requires the operator to be
experienced, skilled and knowledgeable. And the use of relatively
complex and expensive software and hardware has become necessary.

Summary
Research in the AE testing field of structures that are concrete has undergone a
drastic improvement because of the increasing need of renovation and analysis
of concrete structures. Several practical applications of AE testing has been
realised which is led by various research works.

Today we are in dire need to develop and innovate a more generalized and
concrete method to interpret and analyse the data which is recorded by AE
which can solve major problems relating to the integrity of structures and
improve the efficiency of AE testing. We already saw that the applications of
AE testing is widespread and more and more industries are adopting this
method to test the strength and durability of their components and various parts
of their machinery.

References
1. https://www.stress.com/acoustic-emission-testing-overview/
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/acoustic-emission-
testing
3. https://inspectioneering.com/tag/acoustic+emission
4. https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/acoustic-emission-
testing
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_emission
6. Mechanical Metallurgy- George E. Dieter, SI metric edition, 1988,
McGraw Hill Book Co Ltd, U.K.