Papers by Keyword: AE Sensor

Abstract: In grinding process, the grinding wheel profiles are copied to workpiece surface. Therefore, the finished workpiece surface can be estimated by the grinding wheel surfaces. In this paper, new measuring method of the distribution of cutting edge in grinding wheel surface by two AE sensors is proposed. From experimental results, it is confirmed that the distribution of cutting edges in wheel surface can be measured easily by the proposed method compared to another measuring method.

Abstract: In this article, a portable XLPE cable insulation detection device is introduced. Such a device utilizes electromagnetic coupling, UHF electromagnetic wave and acoustic emission to detect partial discharge signals in power cables. By analyzing the partial discharge signals and cable temperatures, the insulation status of XLPE power cables is judged.

Abstract: Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a promising Acoustic Emission (AE) sensor element for high-temperature environments such as gas turbines and other plants because AlN maintains its piezoelectricity up to 1200°C. Highly c-axis-oriented AlN thin-film sensor elements were prepared on silicon single crystals by rf magnetron sputtering. Both ordinary-temperature AE sensors and high-temperature AE sensors have been developed using these elements. In this paper, to study effects of d33 and thickness of AlN elements on sensor sensitivity, AlN elements with d33 from 2 to 7 pm/V and thickness from 3 to 9 /m were prepared. It is confirmed that the AE sensor sensitivity increased with d33 and thickness of AlN elements. The sensitivity of the high-temperature AE sensor was also improved by a design of the sensor structure. The sensor characteristics were evaluated at elevated temperatures from 200 to 600°C. It was confirmed that the AE sensor works well at 600°C and does not deteriorate.

Abstract: Development of modern society is converging to a status where many human actions can be performed by machines. To achieve production without human intervention, machines require artificial receptors. Data gathering for processing and analysis of signals, together with determination of feedback reactions can be achieved by a suitable decision maker unit. A sensed value suited to this so-called intelligent sensing process would be the acoustic emission signal. In the case of intelligent cutting tools this would require miniature highly sensitive sensors integrated into the cutting tool body. Part I of this paper deals with the possibility of practical usage of the piezoelectric properties of copolymer foils for the acoustic emission sensor as a transducer of a mechanical surface wave into electrical signal. Part II of the paper deals with the most fundamental requirement for monitoring of cutting conditions during machining, i.e. excellent processing of measured data. Data obtained from machining process obtained by means of acoustic emission sensors, as discussed in the first part of this article, have high-frequency and continuous character of a white noise. These data are very difficult to process. New apparatus for transformation of acoustic emission into audible sound in the workplace is presented. The first stage of processing is by listening to transformed data it is subjectively possible to recognize differences in audible spectrum, corresponding to different states of the cutting tool. The second step is visualization of the differences via the fast Fourier transform (FFT) in the spectrum graphic chart.

Abstract: This paper proposes a method for both the out-of-plane and in-plane displacement sensitivity calibration of an acoustic emission (AE) sensor. In the method, a laser homodyne interferometer is used to measure the out-of-plane and in-plane displacement of the surface of a large test block excited by a repeatable source transducer. The out-of-plane displacement is measured by aligning the laser beam perpendicular to the surface with time gating of the receive waveform used to isolate only the direct arrival of the longitudinal wave produced by the piston source transducer. For the in-plane displacement measurement, the laser beam is aligned parallel to the surface to intersect a small optically reflective step with the time waveform being gated to measure only the direct shear arrival produced using a normal incidence shear wave source transducer. In each case, the interferometer measurement is followed by coupling the sensor under test to the measurement surface, which is then exposed to the same acoustic field and the sensor output signal measured. This substitution method allows the sensor sensitivity to be obtained in terms of volts per unit displacement for both the out-of-plane and in-plane surface displacement. The method allows a comprehensive description of an AE sensor response to different planes of displacement and offers the potential for a traceable sensor calibration to units of length.

Abstract: Improvement in grinding efficiency is very important to economically produce precision parts. This paper proposes a new table-motion control system for reducing non-machining time in the surface-grinding process and describes the results of performance tests of the system. The table-motion is adaptively controlled so that the table stroke is shifted along a workpiece shape. That is, an AE signal is emitted from the contact zone between a grinding wheel and a workpiece and is diminished when the wheel leaves the workpiece. When the signal level becomes less than a preset trigger level, a command is sent to a table controller to reverse the table-motion. By using the proposed system, unnecessary table over-travel is successfully eliminated and total machining time is reduced by 22 to 38 percent.