A probabilistic framework for single-sensor acoustic emission source localization in thin metallic plates

Tracking edge-reflected acoustic emission (AE) waves can allow the localization of their sources. Specifically, in bounded isotropic plate structures, only one sensor may be used to perform these source localizations. The primary goal of this paper is to develop a three-step probabilistic framework to quantify the uncertainties associated with such single-sensor localizations. According to this framework, a probabilistic approach is first used to estimate the direct distances between AE sources and the sensor. Then, an analytical model is used to reconstruct the envelope of edge-reflected AE signals based on the source-to-sensor distance estimations and their first arrivals. Finally, the correlation between the probabilistically reconstructed envelopes and recorded AE signals are used to estimate confidence contours for the location of AE sources. To validate the proposed framework, Hsu-Nielsen pencil lead break (PLB) tests were performed on the surface as well as the edges of an aluminum plate. The localization results show that the estimated confidence contours surround the actual source locations. In addition, the performance of the framework was tested in a noisy environment simulated by two dummy transducers and an arbitrary wave generator. The results show that in low-noise environments, the shape and size of the confidence contours depend on the sources and their locations. However, at highly noisy environments, the size of the confidence contours monotonically increases with the noise floor. Such probabilistic results suggest that the proposed probabilistic framework could thus provide more comprehensive information regarding the location of AE sources.

[1]  Paul David Wilcox,et al.  Lamb Wave Inspection of Large Structures Using Lamb Wave Inspection of Large Structures Using Permanently Attached Transducers , 1998 .

[2]  E Dehghan Niri,et al.  Nonlinear Kalman Filtering for acoustic emission source localization in anisotropic panels. , 2014, Ultrasonics.

[3]  Piervincenzo Rizzo,et al.  Multimodal structural health monitoring based on active and passive sensing , 2018 .

[4]  Boris A. Zárate,et al.  Probabilistic Prognosis of Fatigue Crack Growth Using Acoustic Emission Data , 2012 .

[5]  Victor Giurgiutiu,et al.  Dual Mode Sensing with Low-Profile Piezoelectric Thin Wafer Sensors for Steel Bridge Crack Detection and Diagnosis , 2012 .

[6]  Bin Wu,et al.  Application of wavelet transform on modal acoustic emission source location in thin plates with one sensor , 2004 .

[7]  Luca De Marchi,et al.  Acoustic emission localization in plates with dispersion and reverberations using sparse PZT sensors in passive mode , 2012 .

[8]  Francesco Ciampa,et al.  Acoustic emission localization in complex dissipative anisotropic structures using a one-channel reciprocal time reversal method. , 2011, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[9]  Tribikram Kundu,et al.  Acoustic source localization. , 2014, Ultrasonics.

[10]  Salvatore Salamone,et al.  Probabilistic location estimation of acoustic emission sources in isotropic plates with one sensor , 2017, Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[11]  Salvatore Salamone,et al.  A probabilistic framework for acoustic emission source localization in plate-like structures , 2012 .

[12]  Jiao Jingpin,et al.  Acoustic emission source location methods using mode and frequency analysis , 2008 .

[13]  Petr Sedlák,et al.  Acoustic emission localization in thin multi-layer plates using first-arrival determination , 2013 .

[14]  Haiying Huang,et al.  A wireless acoustic emission sensor remotely powered by light , 2014 .

[15]  Martine Wevers,et al.  One sensor linear location of acoustic emission events using plate wave theories , 1999 .

[16]  Minoo Kabir,et al.  Accurate Source Localization Using Highly Narrowband and Densely Populated MEMS Acoustic Emission Sensors , 2015 .

[17]  S. Salamone,et al.  Damage localization in metallic plate structures using edge-reflected lamb waves , 2016 .

[18]  Sohichi Hirose,et al.  Reflection of Obliquely Incident Guided Waves by an Edge of a Plate , 2007 .

[19]  Loi Lei Lai,et al.  Wavelet-Based Algorithm for Signal Analysis , 2007, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[20]  Zahra Sharif Khodaei,et al.  A Bayesian Approach for Sensor Optimisation in Impact Identification , 2016, Materials.

[21]  Jochen H Kurz,et al.  Strategies for reliable automatic onset time picking of acoustic emissions and of ultrasound signals in concrete. , 2005, Ultrasonics.

[22]  Jianfei Tang,et al.  A Bayesian Approach for Localization of Acoustic Emission Source in Plate-Like Structures , 2015 .

[23]  Zhongqing Su,et al.  Application of Kernel Density Estimation in Lamb Wave-Based Damage Detection , 2012 .

[24]  Sabine Van Huffel,et al.  Overview of total least-squares methods , 2007, Signal Process..

[25]  Sheng-Wei Chi,et al.  Wavelet based harmonics decomposition of ultrasonic signal in assessment of plastic strain in aluminum , 2017 .

[26]  Teruo Kishi,et al.  Two-dimensional AE source location with two sensors in thin CFRP plates , 2001 .

[27]  Minoo Kabir,et al.  The design, characterization, and comparison of MEMS comb-drive acoustic emission transducers with the principles of area-change and gap-change , 2015, Smart Structures.

[28]  Daniel Straub,et al.  Toward a probabilistic acoustic emission source location algorithm: A Bayesian approach , 2012 .

[29]  Philippe Micheau,et al.  Dispersion-based imaging for structural health monitoring using sparse and compact arrays , 2011 .

[30]  Salvatore Salamone,et al.  A guided ultrasonic imaging approach in isotropic plate structures using edge reflections , 2016, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[31]  Hyunjo Jeong,et al.  Fracture source location in thin plates using the wavelet transform of dispersive waves. , 2000, IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control.

[32]  Hoon Sohn,et al.  Impact localization in complex structures using laser-based time reversal , 2012 .

[33]  Jeffrey K. Uhlmann,et al.  Unscented filtering and nonlinear estimation , 2004, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[34]  Jianfei Tang,et al.  A particle filter-based method for acoustic emission source localization , 2016 .

[35]  C. R. Rao,et al.  Information and the Accuracy Attainable in the Estimation of Statistical Parameters , 1992 .

[36]  S. Salamone,et al.  Acoustic emission source localization in thin metallic plates: A single‐sensor approach based on multimodal edge reflections , 2017, Ultrasonics.

[37]  Gene H. Golub,et al.  An analysis of the total least squares problem , 1980, Milestones in Matrix Computation.