Abstract
One of the most important applications of AE technology is continuous monitoring of structures and real-time estimation of their integrity. The quantitative evaluation of the monitoring performance according to applied objects and environmental conditions is necessary. The performance evaluation can determine quantitatively the trade-off between the estimation reliability of integrity and monitoring costs.
A model for the AE monitoring of structures has been developed, which is composed of submodels such as fracture, AE generation, propagation, measurement and estimation of degradation. The model is thought to be useful for the estimation of fracture behavior in structures from detected AE waves. In this paper, examples of sub-models and calculation method applied to the fatigue degradation are given. Following conclusions have been obtained from simulation results;
1) Based on the data obtained by material tests, the integrity of structures could be estimated from the relatively small number of AE events detected.
2) The upper limit of monitoring area is calculable for various AE generation patterns and stress levels.
