AMPLITUDE ATTENUATION LAWS OF ACOUSTIC EMISSION WAVES IN PLATE STRUCTURES

Abstract

Although acoustic emission technology has been used in the nondestructive testing of various plate structures, its further application and development remain limited because the laws governing the amplitude attenuation of acoustic emission waves in plate structures remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal the amplitude attenuation laws of acoustic emission waves in plate structures. Thus, in this study, the traditional model of amplitude attenuation, which is in the form of an exponential function, was improved in reference to cylindrical waves, and an amplitude attenuation model in the form of a power function suitable for plate structures was proposed. Moreover, an experimental system for the attenuation of acoustic emission waves in aluminum alloy plates was established to experimentally verify the proposed model. Finally, the amplitude attenuation laws of acoustic emission waves within the full field, near field, and far field of plate structures were discussed. Results show that the amplitude attenuation laws of acoustic emission waves within the full field, near field, and far field of plate structures all conform to the power function model and gradually reduce as propagation distance increases. In addition, the improved amplitude attenuation model better corresponds with the actual amplitude attenuation trend within the near-field range of the acoustic emission source than other forms of amplitude attenuation models. Specifically, the traditional model of amplitude attenuation model agrees with the actual attenuation laws of acoustic emission waves only within the far-field range of the acoustic emission source. The results of this study provide valuable references for the profound analysis of the propagation characteristics of acoustic emission waves in plate structures and will help promote the development and application of acoustic emission technology. Keywords: Acoustic emission waves, Amplitude, Attenuation, Laws, Plate