Development of practical wideband high-fidelity acoustic emission sensors

The development of a series of wideband acoustic emission sensor/preamplifier systems is described. Key design factors are discussed along with the actual design and characterization of the sensors. These new sensors with integral amplification are out-of-plane, displacement response sensors nearly independent of frequency over a range from a slow as 30 to 50 kHz up to 1.2 MHz. The sensor design includes electromagnetic shielding and mechanical protection of the sensitive elements. More importantly, these practical sensors have signal-to-noise sensitivity that is equivalent to typical commercial resonant sensor/preamplifier systems operating from 100 kHz to 300 kHz. A mounting fixture for the sensors has also been developed.