• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.385-398
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• 2011

This paper discusses the applicability of Acoustic Emission (AE) to assess the damage in reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to complex dynamic loadings such as those induced by earthquakes. The AE signals recorded during this type of event can be complicated due to the arbitrary and random nature of seismicity and the fact that the signals are highly contaminated by many spurious sources of noise. This paper demonstrates that by properly filtering the AE signals, a very good correlation can be found between AE and damage on the RC structure. The basic experimental data used for this research are the results of fourteen seismic simulations conducted with a shake table on an RC slab supported on four steel columns. The AE signals were recorded by several low-frequency piezoelectric sensors located on the bottom surface of the slab. The evolution of damage under increasing values of peak acceleration applied to the shake table was monitored in terms of AE and dissipated plastic strain energy. A strong correlation was found between the energy dissipated by the concrete through plastic deformations and the AE energy calculated after properly filtering the signals. For this reason, a procedure is proposed to analyze the AE measured in a RC structure during a seismic event so that it can be used for damage assessment.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2007

This paper presents a novel MEMS condenser microphone with rigid backplate to enhance acoustic characteristics. The MEMS condenser microphone consists of membrane and backplate chips which are bonded together by gold-tin (Au/Sn) eutectic solder bonding. The membrane chip has 2.5 mm${\times}$2.5 mm, $0.5{\mu}m$ thick low stress silicon nitride membrane, 2 mm${\times}$2 mm Au/Ni/Cr membrane electrode, and $3{\mu}m$ thick Au/Sn layer. The backplate chip has 2 mm${\times}$2 mm, $150{\mu}m$ thick single crystal silicon rigid backplate, 1.8 mm${\times}$1.8 mm backplate electrode, and air gap, which is fabricated by bulk micromachining and silicon deep reactive ion etching. Slots and $50-60{\mu}m$ radius circular acoustic holes to reduce air damping are also formed in the backplate chip. The fabricated microphone sensitivity is $39.8{\mu}V/Pa$ (-88 dB re. 1 V/Pa) at 1 kHz and 28 V polarization voltage. The microphone shows flat frequency response within 1 dB between 20 Hz and 5 kHz.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to materialize the viscosity sensor by using the SH-SAW sensor of which the center frequency is operated at higher than 50 MHz. In order to measure the viscosity, SAW sensor of which the center frequency is operated at 100 MHz is developed. By using the developed sensor, phase shift, delay time, insertion loss, and frequency variation are measured at different viscosity. The result shows that the phase shift difference between the viscosity variations is such that the difference between the distilled water and the 100 % glycerol solution is approximately $45^{\circ}$, the change of the insertion loss is approximately 9 dB, and the difference of frequency variation is approximately 5.9 MHz. Therefore, it is shown that viscosity of unknown solution can be measured with the surface acoustic wave sensor.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.371-376
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• 2019

We have developed an acoustic resonance inspection system to inspect the welding defects in the mechanical parts fabricated using friction stir welding method. The inspection system was consisted of a DAQ board, a microphone sensor, an impact hammer, and controlled by a PC software. The system was developed to collect and analyze the sound signal generated by hitting the sample with an impact hammer to determine whether it is defective. In this study, 100% welded good samples were compared with 95%, 90%, and 85% welded samples, respectively. The variation of the completeness in welding did not affect the visual appearance in the samples. As a result of analyzing the natural frequencies of the good samples, the five natural frequency peaks were identified. In the case of the defective samples, the frequency change was observed. The welding failure detection time was fast enough to be only 0.7 seconds. Employing our welding defect inspection system to the actual industrial field will maximize the efficiency of quality inspection and thus improve the productivity.

• International Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology Speciallssue:Selected Papers
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2001

The characteristics of elastic waves emanating from crack initiation in 2024 and 5052 aluminum alloys subject to static and fatigue loading are investigated through laboratory experiments. The objective of the study is to determine difference in the properties of the signals generated from static and fatigue tests and also to examine if the sources of the waves could be identified from the temporal and spectral characteristics of the acoustic emission (AE) waveforms. The signals are recoded using non-resonant, flat, broadband transducers attached to the surface of the alloy specimens. The time dependence and power spectra of the signals recorded during the tests were examined and classified according to their special features. Three distinct types of signals were observed. The waveforms and their power spectra were found to be dependent on the material and the type of fracture associated with the signals. Analysis of the waveforms indicated that some signals could be attributed to plastic deformation associated with static tests. The potential application of the approach in health monitoring of aging aircraft structures using a network of surface mounted broadband sensors is discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.14-25
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• 2010

Small cracks or chips of a product appear very frequently in the course of continuous production of an automatic press process system. These phenomena became the cause of not only defective product but also damage of a press mold. In order to solve this problem AE(Acoustic emission) system was introduced. AE system was expected to be very effective to real time detection of the defective product and for the prevention of the damage in the press molds In this study, for the pick and analysis of AE signals generated from the press process, AE sensors/pre-amplifier/analysis and processing board were used as frequently found in the other similar cases. For the analysis and processing the AE signals picked in real time from the normal or the detective products, specialized software called AE-win(software for processing AE signal from Physical Acoustics Corporation) was used. As a result of this work it was conformed that intensity and shape of the various AE signals differ depending on the weight of the press and thickness of sheet and process type.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.111-130
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• 2014

The increased use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in retrofitting reinforced concrete (RC) members has led to the need to develop non-destructive techniques that can monitor and characterize the unique damage mechanisms exhibited by such structural systems. This paper presented the damage characterization results of six CFRP retrofitted RC beam specimens tested in the laboratory and monitored using acoustic emission (AE). The focus of this study was to continuously monitor the change in AE parameters and analyze them both qualitatively and quantitatively, when brittle failure modes such as debonding occur in these beams. Although deterioration of structural integrity was traceable and can be quantified by monitoring the AE data, individual failure mode characteristics could not be identified due to the complexity of the system failure modes. In all, AE was an effective non-destructive monitoring tool that can trace the failure progression in RC beams retrofitted with CFRP. It would be advantageous to isolate signals originating from the CFRP and concrete, leading to a more clear understanding of the progression of the brittle damage mechanism involved in such a structural system. For practical applications, future studies should focus on spectral analysis of AE data from broadband sensors and automated pattern recognition tools to classify and better correlate AE parameters to failure modes observed.

• Composites Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.25-30
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• 2011

The studies on the non-destructive testing methods of the composite materials are very important for improving their reliability and safety. AE(Acoustic Emission) can evaluate the defects by detecting the emitting strain energy when elastic waves are generated by the generation and growth of a crack, plastic deformation, fiber breakage, matrix cleavage or delamination. In this paper, the AE signals of the filament wound composite cylinder and sandwich cylinder during the pressure test were measured and analyzed. The signal characteristics of PVDF sensors were measured, and an AE signal analyzer which had the band-pass filter and L-C resonance filter were designed and fabricated. Also, the crack detection capability of the fabricated AE signal analyzer wes evaluated during the pressure tests of the filament wound composite cylinder and the sandwich cylinder.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2001

Using transmission-line equivalent circuit based on cross-field model for an interdigital acoustic wave transducer, an efficient simulation technique of SAW filters by SPICE is proposed. Propagation of surface acoustic wave is modeled as transmission line so that frequency-dependent circuit elements are not needed in the equivalent circuit of an interdigital transducer. Because the equivalent circuits for frequency-dependent circuit elements are not derived approximately, and a small number of circuit elements are used in the equivalent circuit for filters, simulation time is much reduced. The utility of the proposed technique is demonstrated through simulation for the characteristics of SAW filters such as insertion loss, input admittance, passband ripple, and harmonic frequency response.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.239-243
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• 2007

The evaluation and comparison have been made for the EMI noise which was included in the signal from the sensors in the acoustic emission testing for the bottom plate of ground tank at full. The EMI signal has been classified into two types. One is the signal with very short AE count, and this signal possibly can be filtered by front end filter setting of the channel count with low level of 4 and high level of $10^8$. The other EMI signal occurred from CH 1, CH 3 and CH 10, and had high and constant duration with high energy and count (maximun duration > $10^5\;{\mu}s$), and has characteristic gradient of accumulation amplitude distribution. This signal should be removed in the AE signal evaluation by filtering, because this may affect to the total gradient.