International Journal of Fracture 28 (1985) 201-222. 1985 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht. Printed in The Netherlands.

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension by quantitative acoustic emission

C.B. S C R U B Y , G.R. B A L D W I N a n d K.A. S T A C E Y
Materials Physics & Metallurg~v Division, AERE Harwell, UK

(Received November 1, 1984)

Abstract
A calibrated four-channel elastic wave recording system has been used to detect and characterise acoustic emission events associated with the growth of a fatigue crack in a compact tension specimen of 7010 aluminium alloy. The transducers sampled the elastic wave field in four independent directions in a plane perpendicular to the crack. The 2-D force dipole representation of each event, assumed to be a point source, was deduced by inversion of the Green's tensor. Each emission event was then characterised in terms of source type (e.g. microfracture, slip), orientation relative to fatigue crack and size (e.g. crack volume). All of the events (other than clearly distinguishable signals due to fretting at the loading pins) were located within 0.5 mm of the crack tip. 80% of the recorded events had the character of fracture, and were mostly oriented approximately parallel to the fatigue crack. The typical event size was - 2,000/tm3. It is believed that the principal source of emission was brittle inclusion fracture at, or close to, the crack tip. The largest inclusions ( - 10/~m) were much smaller than the deduced emission sources, implying that the fatigue crack modifies the elastic wave radiation from the inclusions and amplifies the apparent source strengths. Nevertheless the point-source model fitted most of the data reasonably well, with residual errors < 10%.

1. Introduction
Acoustic emission is the term used to describe the s p o n t a n e o u s release of transient elastic waves in solids as a consequence of s u d d e n localised changes in stress. M a j o r damage processes in engineering materials, such as crack a d v a n c e a n d plastic deformation, are a c c o m p a n i e d by local changes in the stress a n d strain states of the body, a n d thus radiate elastic waves away to the external surfaces of the body. Provided the elastic waves are of sufficient a m p l i t u d e to be detected b y receivers attached to the body, they can be used to given an i n d i c a t i o n of defect growth. The p h e n o m e n o n of acoustic emission has thus been applied widely as a technique for m o n i t o r i n g the integrity of stressed structures, such as n u c l e a r pressure vessels, chemical p l a n t a n d aircraft c o m p o n e n t s [11-3]. There is also a growing interest in using acoustic emission as a materials testing tool, as a method for i m p r o v i n g our u n d e r s t a n d i n g of d e f o r m a t i o n a n d fracture processes, a n d as a technique for material process control. While the biggest p r o b l e m with acoustic emission as a n N D E technique is u n d o u b t e d l y that it may fail to detect significant defect growth if the rate of change of defect size falls below the detection threshold, its value has also been limited b y the qualitative n a t u r e of most data. It has thus been difficult, if n o t impossible, to discriminate between g e n u i n e crack growth a n d spurious fretting noise. I n a d d i t i o n a desirable quality of a n y N D E technique is not only to detect a n d locate defects, b u t also to size them. There are two m a i n reasons why A E has been generally less successful than other N D E techniques at 201

202

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

(o1

ACOUSTIC EMISSION MEASUREMENT.

(b). ACOUSTIC EMISSIONSOURCECHARACTERISATION

Figure 1. Principlesof acoustic emission measurementfollowedby source characterisation. characterising and sizing defect indications. First, the generation, propagation and detection of acoustic emission signals involve a complex series of processes which have only relatively recently begun to be understood. Generally speaking, the theoretical relationships between defect source and received signal are more complicated than in other N D T techniques. Secondly the transducers and recording apparatus mostly used for acoustic emission have been designed to give optimum sensitivity rather than, for instance, bandwidth. They are also used uncalibrated (in the absolute sense) and thus give only qualitative indications of emission activity. This paper reports a quantitative study of fatigue crack growth in a compact tension specimen of a 7010 aluminium alloy, similar to one used in aircraft construction. A two-dimensional array of four point-contact transducers is used to measure the elastic wave field generated by emission events associated with crack advance. The data are analysed to characterise (Fig. 1) each event in terms of type (e.g. mode I crack advance or slip), orientation relative to the plane of the fatigue crack, and size (e.g. volume for crack event). 2.

Theory

The radiation of elastic waves by an advancing fatigue crack is a complex process, chiefly because of the interactions between the elastic waves and the boundary surfaces of the fatigue crack. For the purpose of this paper we shall simplify the problem, and consider the radiation from a self-equilibrating point source, leaving the effects of boundary surfaces, which we recognise to be significant, for later discussion.

2.1. Source representation

Following previous work [4-6] we find a suitable representation for the defect source assumed to act at a point, and use the elastodynamic approach to deduce the displacements induced at the surface of the specimen. We also assume that all the components of the source exhibit the same time dependence. In the body force representation [7,8] the defect source is modelled as the combination of forces which would produce the same elastic wave-field as the defect in the far field. The assumed condition of self-equilibrium requires each body force to be paired with an equal and opposite force to form a dipole,

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

Table 1 Source type
Dilatation of volume dV

203

Point source representation

Dij =

45 shear in the ( x l x 3 )

plane; slip
displacement b, over area dA Microcrack of area with opening b in x 3 direction

~-/LbdA
D,J=[ 00

0 0 o
o

(x+23 )d

1 00]
/LbdA

Dij =

0 0

XbdA 0

0 (X + 2 ~ ) b d A

D,j, which consists of a pair of forces acting in the + i directions, whose points of application are separated in the j direction. For a source whose displacements can be represented also as a dislocation loop (or combination of dislocations) the force dipole tensor, D~j (which is the same as the seismic moment tensor) is equivalent to a displacement tensor, bkdA t, where [7,8]

Dij = C,jklbkdAt.
For isotropic elasticity, Ci/kz the elastic stiffness tensor can be written

(1)

(2) where ~ and # are the Lam6 constants. In the absence of rotation there are two basic acoustic sources, the dilatation and the shear, and other dipolar sources can be obtained in a linear combination of the dilatation and three orthogonal shears. The microcrack representation as an edge dislocation loop [8] is one of the most useful point sources, and its representation is shown together with the dilatation and one shear in Table 1 and Fig. 2. Variations in source orientation relative to fixed axes cause changes in the relative strengths of the matrix components. For zero net moment in the source, D,j has six independent components. The source matrix is only diagonal when the source axes are oriented parallel to the coordinate axes. In this case, variations in source type cause changes in the relative strength of the diagonal components of the matrix, while variations in source strength scale the whole matrix mainly through the factor dV = bdA. For the experimental study, the transducers are situated in the x l x 3 plane so that the strength of the far field direct compression wave arrival from a source at the origin, depends only on the strength of three source components D1~, D33, D13. For orientation parallel to the coordinate axes, the three sources of Table 1 become

(A) Dilatation,

D1, = D33 --- (~k'+ 2/3/t)dV, /)13 = D31 = 0;

-Dll = D33 = ixbdA,

(3)

(B) 45 Shear,

D13 = D31 = 0;

(4)

204
Angular Dependence o f P-Wave Z

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

Point- Force Representation 033=( .2p) bdA Ur(O)
Ii

Point - Force Representation

Angular Dependence of P-Wave

D33= BdV

,F U'q.
1
I b

Dll =BdV
II

Dll =
qr

XbdA

(a) Dilatation

(c)Microcrack F3
z

(e~Ur(O) x

D33=JJbdA

D11--~/JbdA

-~-x
(T +

+ Ur(O)

dx3~ll 033~~d~3 i
r F3

Q
(5)

(b) Shear

(d) Single Dipole

Figure 2. Point-force representations in 2-D for four source types used in acoustic emission characterisation, together with compression wave radiation pattern.

(C) Microcrack,

D n = )~bdA,
033 : (X -I- 2 / x ) b d A ,

Dr3 = D31 = 0. Suppose the dipole source in diagonal form, D~j, is rotated by an angle a about the Xz-axis. Then the new representation D~ is given by [Oll COS2tlt--I-D33 sin2a (D, 1 - D33) sin a cos a ] Dll sin2a + D33 cos2a ' (6)

Di~ = [ (Dlt - D33 ) sin a cos a

i.e. there are three independent non-zero components.

2.2. Elastic wave propagation

The propagation of elastic waves from a point source to some measurement position in an elastic solid can be represented by the dynamic elastic Green's tensor, G~j, defined by

ui(x, t ) = Gij(x, x', t)Fj(t),

(7)

where Fj is a force impulse at the point x' and time zero, and ui(x, t) is the displacement response at a point x. If the source is a force dipole Djk = Fjdx k, rather than a simple force Fj, the response is given by the derivative of the Green's tensor:

ui(x, t ) =

aX,k Gij(x, x', t ) g k ( t ) ,

(8)

which can also be written

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension u, = -G,j,k,Djk.

205 (9)

Consider the radiation from a point force F3(t ) in an infinite body acting in the x3-direction at the origin. The radial displacement at the point (r, 0) due to the arrival of the compression ( P ) wave is given by [9] cos 0 ur(r, t) = F3(t- r/cl), (10) 4~r(X + 2/z)r where c 1 is the compression wave speed. The radiation from a dipole D33 is therefore given by csZ0 Ur( r , t) = 4rr(X + 2#) D 3 3 ( t - r/c1) + clr (11)

-~

'

where D'j = O(Dij)/Ot. The second term decays more rapidly with r, and only the first "far-field" term will be considered, i.e.

Ur(r , t)

cos20 D;3(t - r / c , ) . 4~r()t + 2 g ) c j r

(12)

The compression wave-fields from the DI~ and analogous fashion and are

D13

dipoles can be deduced in an

Ur( r , t)

sin20 4~r(X + 21z)clr D~l( t - r / c , ) , sin 0 cos 0 D~3(t - r/c1). 4rr(X + 21z)clr

(13) (14)

ur(r, t) -

Thus the wave-field due to the full 2-D dipole source [DH Dij = [ D31 D,3] D33 J

is given by the sum of the individual contributions:

u i = Gil,rD~I + Gi3,3,D~3 + 2G,,,3,D~3,

i.e. D~I sin20 + D~3 cos20 + 2D~3 sin 0 cos 0 ur = 4rr(X + 21*)c,r

(15)

(16)

It is noted that the displacement is proportional to the time derivative of the source strength. Thus if the source has step function time dependence, i.e. dV(t) = dVH(t), the displacements are delta functions, i.e. ur(t ) = u f l ( t - r/cl). The source strength is therefore obtained by integration of the measured displacement. For the experiments to be discussed below, the wave arrivals take the form of displacement pulses, so that the source strengths are proportional to pulse area. Suppose that the compression wave is incident at an angle 0' at a planar surface (Fig. 3). Then if r is sufficiently large the far-field component of the incident compression wave can be considered as a plane wave. At the surface the compression wave is reflected as a compression wave of amplitude Up. A mode converted shear wave of amplitude u s is also generated at an angle 0" where [10] Up
--

sin 20' sin 20" - k 2 cos220 ''

=

ur

sin 20' sin 20" + k 2 C 0 S 2 2 0

(17)
'' '

u_~ _ 2= 2k sin 20' cos 20" ur sin 20' sin 20" + k 2 cos220 '' '

(18)

206

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin a n d K.A. Stacey

~.~versio n

Reflection and mode

,'I

Perpendicular surface Displacement, u

wave

Acoust ic
source

Figure 3. Wave propagation from point source to measurement point at specimen surface.

where k = c1//c2, C2 being the shear wave speed. The perpendicular component of the displacement at the surface is given by
u = u r cos 0' - Up cos 0' + u s sin 0".

(19)

Substituting for Up and u s from (17) and (18) yields

U = urRp,

(20)

where Rp
--

2k 2 cos 0' cos 20" sin 20' sin 20" + k 2 cos220 '' "

(21)

Substituting sin 0" = sin O ' / k yields 2k 2 cos O ' ( k 2 - 2 sin20 ') (22)
2 -

Rp = ( ks

_ 2 sin20') 2 + 4 sin20'(1

- sin20')~/2(k

sin28') 1/2"

Thus a transducer at a point on the surface will experience a perpendicular component of displacement of the surface given by u = ( D n sin20 + D33 COS20 -I- 2D,3 sin 0 cos O ) R p / a ~ r ( h + 2 t t ) c l r , (23)

where u is the time integral of u r. There will also be a parallel component of displacement at the surface, but this will not be considered because it is assumed that the transducer is chiefly responsive to perpendicular displacement.
2.3. Source location

The location of each source event must be determined prior to source characterisation. This is readily done using the arrival times of the compression waves. Assuming that the source lies in the (x, z) plane, then the arrival time at the mth transducer is given by
t,, = I rm - r ]/c~

(24)

where r = (x, z) is the source location, and r,, = (xm, z,,) is the location of the nth transducer, i.e. t , , = [ ( x m - x ) 2 + ( z , , - 2)2] 1/2//Cl . (25)

Because the absolute time of the source event is unknown, only time differences can be measured, e.g. between the k th and m th transducers,

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension Atk.,----- (Irk - r l Iro,-

207 (26)

~l)/c,.

Equations of this form are non-linear and difficult to solve analytically, and numerical methods are generally recommended. At least three transducers are required to measure two time differences, and hence deduce the two unknowns x, z. For the experiments described below, four transducers were used, so that the solution of the set of equations (26) was over-determined. Thus a non-linear least-squares method was used to solve the equations for x and z.

2.4. Deduction of source characteristics

In a source characterisation experiment, Fig. 1, it is required to deduce the source dipole strengths from the measured surface displacements. In the 2-D case the three unknown dipole strengths D~I, 033 and DIS, need at least three measurements of displacement u,,, each of which can be expressed as a linear combination of the Dij of the form given in (23), i.e.

U., = AmijOij,

m = 1, n (n >/3).

(27)

where the summation convention is assumed. Inverting this set of linear equations in order to deduce the source components D~j is now a matter of inverting a 3 n matrix, i.e. -I Dij = AmijUm. (28)

If n = 3 the solution is exact. However, errors in measurement, etc., can be reduced by using more than three transducers, so that the solution is over-determined. In this case the inversion can be carried out numerically, using for instance a linear least-squares method. This approach can be extended to the 3-D case, where in the absence of rotation there will be 6 independent D,j, and where n must be greater than or equal to 6 in (27). The approach should also be applicable to cases where parallel rather than perpendicular displacements are measured (although this is experimentally more difficult), and where other arrival strengths (e.g. shear wave, or reflected compression waves) are measured.

2.5. Source orientation

Having deduced the values of the Dij components, the next stage is to find the orientation of the source relative to the coordinate axes. The method is to find the angle a through which the matrix must be rotated in order to make the off-diagonal terms zero. For the 2-D source [D,, Dij = [D31 D,s ] D33 (29)

we require to find the angle a such that D13 = D31 = 0. Rotated by a we have: D~'3 = D~ = Dll sin ~ cos a - Ds3 sin a cos a + Dls(cos2a - sin2a) = 0, i.e. a = 1 t a n - t [2D,3/(D33 _ D,,)] We now have a diagonal matrix with components given by D~1 = Dll cos2a + 033 sin2c~ - D13 sin 2a, D3" = Dll sin2~ + D33 cos20t + DI3 sin 2a. s (32) (33) (31) (30)

208
2.6. Source type

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

The source type must be characterised in terms of the relative magnitudes of the diagonal components, in this case D n and D33. No information is available on the strengths of D22, D~2 or/923. It is assumed that these are consistent with the strengths of the other Dij for each source type. Four types of source can initially be distinguished (Fig. 2) in terms of the stress-strain fields associated with the Dij. The dilatation, shear (e.g. slip), and microcrack sources have physical significance, the single dipole is included because slip for instance in the x 2 x 3 plane might appear as a dipole in the x l x 3 plane. The criteria for assigning a source type are taken to be (A) DI1 = 933 source is dilatation; (B) DI1 = -D33 source is shear in x l x 3 plane; Dn --- h + 2# (C)
Dll =

33

2/~ D3 3 ] -~ J

source is microcrack [ horizontal, I vertical;

(D)

D33

source is dipole

vertical [ I. horizontal.

2. 7. Source strength (size)

Finally a size can be assigned to the source as follows. (A) dilatation: from (3) the volume of the dilatation is given by 8 V = Da3//(X + 2/~); (B) shear: from (4) the strength of the shear source is given in terms of the product of the area of slip and the slip displacement, i.e. bSA = D33/bt. (C) mierocraek: from (5), the volume of the microcrack is given in terms of crack area and opening by bSA = D33//(~k + 2#).

3. Experimental procedure
The experiment was performed using a compact tension specimen (BS 5447, 1975), the dimensions of which are given in Fig. 4. The material was a pure analogue of 7010 aluminium alloy, which was supplied by the Materials and Structures Department, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. Prior to monitoring with acoustic emission, the specimen was subjected to cyclic loading between 12 and 24 kN (R --- 0.5) to give a fatigue pre-crack length of 1 mm. Four point-contact transducers (Fig. 5) were attached to the specimen in the positions shown in Fig. 4. Their coordinates (in millimetres) relative to the origin at the centre of the specimen are given in Table 2. The transducers sample in four different orientations the xz-section of the elastic wave-field generated by emission events at, or close to the centre of the fatigue crack front. The point-contact transducers, based on a design published in [11] have a flat broad-band response to compression waves up to - 2 MHz. This together with their omnidirectional response (contact area 0.8 mm 2) makes them excellent either for source characterisation studies or three-dimensional location. The transducers were calibrated with their associated preamplifiers against a standard capacitive transducer using a pulsed laser source on a test block [12]. A thermoelastic source of ultrasound is generated, which produces a very similar wave-field to a growing crack [13]. The output from each preamplifier was filtered to exclude mechanical noise below 30 kHz, fed into a broad-band variable gain amplifier (incorporating low-pass filtering at 7 MHz), and finally into one channel of a four-channel Trace 80 digitiser (Fig.

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

Fotigue crock T2(e=2 )

209

- ~

P-el,.

T1 ( 0 = 9 0 * )

T4, T3 (O=201 ) (O=152 ) 5 0 m m ~

Figure 4. Compact tension specimen showing positions of transducers. Values of 0 given for fatigue crack length of 4 ram.

Stainless steel
cose

Spring

onnector / ~ I:11
Bross Brct

Insulotion

/\Ul
f=~/.

backing

T
73

~int-contoct ~ 3 Pc feet
I/

/////////7///////////
03 O1 ~t Piezoelectric element
Figure 5. Point-contact transducer used for quantitative displacement measurement (dimensions in millimetres). Table 2 Channel no. Transducer position

1
2 3 4

(2~,0,0) )
(5, 0, 24) ~ (17, 0, - 2 4 ) / ( - 5, 0, - 24)]

Gain (pulse height)

Gain (pulse area) 63 Vies (nm I~s) -1

45 V n m - '

210

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

3-3MHz bandpass filter 30KHz I L~J ., highpass Amplifier I Low pass |itter ~-'re-amptilierfitter i / i Trigger

TronsChannel 1

Channel 2 4 Channel digitiser Channel 3 ~ (Trace 80)

Channel 4 ~

VDU

Figure 6. Schematicdiagram of the multi-channelacousticemissiondetectionand recordingsystem.

6). Data from the digitiser were stored on magnetic disc in a P D P l l / 2 3 minicomputer. The amplifier gains were adjusted to compensate for small differences in transducer response, so that all four channels had the same overall gain. Table 2 gives two values of gain. The pulse height gain was obtained by comparing the response of the point-contact and capacitive transducers to the compression wave pulse generated by the laser, and is the value used to scale the waveforms shown in later figures. The pulse area gain was obtained by comparing the integrals of the same pulse, and is the value used for deducing source strengths (which are proportional to pulse area, not height). The frequency response of the recording system from preamplifier to digitiser was flat from 40 kHz ( - 3 dB) to 6 MHz ( - 3 dB). The response of the transducer was also reasonably flat ( - 6 dB at 3 MHz [12]). The digitisation rate was 20 MHz for each channel and the record length 102.4 #s (2048 points). The following steps were taken to eliminate extraneous acoustic noise from, for instance, the loading pins. First the pins and the pin-holes were carefully cleaned, polished, given a thin coating of PTFE, and then oiled to reduce fretting noise. Secondly, the digitiser was indirectly triggered from Channel 2 after further filtering to give a 300 kHz-3 MHz pass-band (Fig. 6). Previous experience had indicated that this procedure is effective for removing signals that either have travelled some distance (i.e. from outside the zone of interest) or are naturally lower in frequency (grip noise, fretting and vibration). Thirdly, the load at which the events occurred was noted, genuine crack growth signals being expected to occur at maximum load. Finally, the arrival times of the signals were checked for consistency with sources lying within the zone of interest, i.e., the vicinity of the fatigue crack ("spatial filtering"). In fact most of the data that were recorded were found to be genuine events located close to the fatigue crack and at maximum load, indicating that the first two steps had been successful. The specimen was subjected to sinusoidal cyclic loading in an Instron screw-driven machine at 0.2 Hz while acoustic emission data were recorded. Maximum and minimum loads were 24 and 12 kN. Two-dimensional source characterisation data were obtained between 6200 and 7300 cycles and between 8100 and 8600 cycles of fatigue, when the crack was approximately 4 mm long.

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

200

211

P1
h l
150E

Channel 1

12 ~2
~
o 100

Channel 2

~
50

Channel 3

~
0
0 10 20 3

Channel 4

Timelws
Figure 7. Data from small event (3) showing compression wave arrivals ( P ) and arrival times (t).

4. Experimental results
During the - 1100 cycle period of monitoring 36 signals were recorded which were of sufficient amplitude for the compression wave pulse areas to be measured on all four channels. All the signals were detected at approximately maximum load. Five of the signals had a second event occurring a short time after the first, to give a total therefore of 41 events for analysis. Figures 7 - 1 0 show examples of recorded data. The arrival times of the compression wave pulses were first measured (see e.g. Fig. 7) and the (x, z) coordinates of each event deduced, using the method described in Section 2.3. The results are given in Table 3. It can be seen that the events all come from approximately the same (x, z) location, the mean ( + standard deviation) being x = (4.0 + 0.4) mm, z = ( - 0.2 + 0.2) mm. This is in good agreement with the optical measurement
200

I
15C

5
Channel

(2
~ C h a n n e l 2

U loo

a
5C

P3
Channel 3

- ~

Channel 4

~
Tirne IjJs

~o

Figure 8. Data from typical event (7) showing compression wave arrivals (P).

212
200

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

150 E

1 P2

[
I~~2

Channel 1

E
a 100 u~
P3

Channel 2 p* 13 Channel 3
50

Channel 4

i'o
Timel~Js

~o

Figure 9. Data from double event (20, 21) showing compression wave arrivals (P, P'). of 4.3 m m for length of the crack as observed on the side faces of the specimen after the

monitoring.
The compression wave arrival strengths were measured for each waveform and the data are presented in Table 3. As described in Section 2.2 the arrival strengths used for source characterisation are the pulse areas, so that the data for Table 3 were obtained by integration of the waveform. Because the trailing edge of the compression wave pulse is prone to distortion due to overlapping with later arrivals, weak radial transducer resonances and near field contributions to the displacement, each pulse was integrated from zero to peak value, and the result doubled. The units of the arrival strengths are picometre microseconds.
4.1. Deduction of source tensor

Knowing the source and transducer positions, and assuming that c] = 6300 m s -1, tt = 2.8 X 10 l N m -2, k = 2 and h = 2~ (Poisson's ratio -- 1 / 3 ) for the 7010 aluminium
200

150 ~ p 2 " ~ V
i v

~/

~ Channel I

~ ~
oo

.... -

i
10 Time/ps

Channel 2

50

Channel 3

20

30

Figure 10. Data from large event (34) showing compression wave arrivals (P).

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

213

Table 3. Location data and compression arrival strengths for acoustic emission events recorded during 1100 fatigue cycles. Bracketed events occurred on same signal in very close succession Event no. Deduced location x (mm) 1 2 3 (4 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.4 3.5 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.5 4.2 3.9 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.1 3.9 3.9 4.2 4.4 3.9 3.9 4.6 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.2 3.9 3.6 3.5 3.9 z (mm) - 0.1 0.0 - 0.3 -0.1 - 0.1 0.4 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 0.3 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 0.4 4.0 - 0.2 0.0 - 0.2 - 0.4 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 0.l - 0.1 - 0.2 - 0.2 - 0.3 - 0.3 - 0.3 - 0.3 - 0.2 - 0.4 - 0.3 - 0.2 - 0.6 - 0.2 0.0 - 0.2 - 0.2 - 0.2 - 0.3 - 0.2 - 1.0 0.1 Pulse area amplitudes (pro its) Ch 1 1.075 1.229 0.302 0.207 1.453 0.256 0.631 0.388 0.297 0.642 0.928 0.232 0.647 0.834 1.133 0.222 0.327 0.684 0.713 0.552 0.624 1.627 4.223 0.398 0.912 0.158 0.732 0.486 0.394 0.258 3.416 0.144 0.591 2.894 0.929 0.476 0.200 0.303 0.016 0.595 1.164 Ch 2 2.269 1.246 0.744 0.375 2.466 0.624 1.032 0.932 0.566 2.009 1.158 0.406 1.091 1.591 1.435 0.979 0.619 1.356 0.988 0.810 1.461 1.527 6.235 0.909 1.287 0.354 1.487 1.005 0.525 0.984 6.469 0.333 1.119 6.596 0.794 0.806 0.702 0.486 0.995 1.826 0.906 Ch 3 1.790 1.365 0.525 0.703 4.404 0.236 0.702 0.579 0.383 1.277 1.349 0.320 0.620 1.034 1.647 0.470 0.229 1.149 0.925 0.658 1.144 3.986 5.227 0.778 1.528 0.226 1.194 0.728 0.760 0.650 5.061 0.873 1.396 3.925 1.107 0.673 0.407 0.368 0.456 1.337 2.053 Ch 4 1.827 1.836 0.668 0.836 4.956 0.234 0.917 0.681 0.547 1.672 1.887 0.338 0.622 1.421 1.553 0.766 0.552 0.983 0.600 1.302 1.255 3.214 6.020 0.718 0.927 0.243 1.350 0.832 0.650 0.893 5.422 0.661 1.041 5.913 1.045 0.528 0.569 0.552 0.821 1.230 1.457

\5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

alloy,

the

arrival (27) was

strengths then

were

expressed using

in

terms

of

the

unknown

source

dipole

components, equations indicating In order inversion mental between

D H, D I 3 ,

D33, u s i n g ( 2 3 ) f o r e a c h e m i s s i o n inverted a least-squares

event. The method

set of four linear the dipole

to deduce

s t r e n g t h s ( 2 8 ) . T h e s o l u t i o n s a r e g i v e n i n T a b l e 4. T y p i c a l l y O l 3 is s m a l l e r t h a n D33 o r D l l that the angle between to test how were used to predict the observed the source and coordinate model a x e s is s m a l l . the results of the with the experiwell the point-source fitted the data, for comparison

the surface displacements error was calculated displacement a reasonably

measurements.

The mean

for each event from the differences good agreement between theory and

and calculated

v a l u e s ( s e e T a b l e 4). F o r all 41 e v e n t s

the average error was 13%, indicating

214

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

Table 4. S o u r c e dipole strengths deduced from the data of Table 3 Event no. Deduced source dipole strengths ( N jam)
D33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 252.6 184.8 83.7 83.1 512.3 46.8 112.0 94.3 63.8 215.6 185.5 45.3 98.1 172.4 195.4 97.2 59.2 149.5 105.6 117.4 166.3 368.9 736.9 103.5 157.8 35.3 172.8 109.8 81.9 110.6 723.6 81.0 152.9 705.8 121.2 85.1 73.2 59.5 102.0 190.8 184.1 E r r o r (%)

Dll
102.0 125.8 29.3 27.2 180.9 20.8 59.0 35.2 28.6 59.9 98.9 22.1 57.2 78.7 114.6 19.3 29.6 64.8 66.1 57.7 59.7 189.0 402.0 37.5 87.5 14.3 71.0 45.3 41.0 25.3 324.8 22.1 60.7 271.3 93.2 43.8 18.2 30.0 1.0 50.8 124.1

Dl3
- 29.3 5.8 - 0.1 - 14.2 - 104.1 - 0.9 6.5 - 1.5 5.4 8.7 10.7 - 4.4 - 6.4 12.4 -45.1 15.7 22.3 - 34.4 - 38.3 36.4 - 11.1 - 135.7 - 11.6 - 15.8 - 71.2 - 2.2 - 10.4 - 2.8 - 20.7 5.2 - 61.0 - 32.0 - ~6.2 88.0 - 24.6 - 21.3 6.0 7.1 15.9 - 14.9 - 90.0 2.1 19.4 3.5 46.9 41.1 31.3 1.5 4.0 4.1 0.7 25.2 2.2 12.8 1.5 12.8 5.2 5.5 0.4 2.5 21.3 4.3 50.5 6.6 4.2 7.0 5.4 5.4 1.6 23.1 4.4 2.6 62.3 14.2 0.9 19.7 2.3 1.3 9.6 9.5 8.8 35.4

experiment. The errt,~ was less than 10% for two-thirds of the events, only four showing a poor fit with an error in excess of 40%.

4.2. Source orientation

The orientation of the source was then deduced for each event (Table 5), using the method described in Section 2.5. The values of a are randomly distributed, with positive and negative angles. For 90% of the data I a I < 30. The diagonal form of the source matrix was then deduced: the values of D33 , D l l , and the ratio D 3 3 / / D l l are also given in Table 5. For all the e v e n t s D33 > D l l , and for 32 events

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

Table 5. Orientation and dipole strength ratio deduced from the data of Table 4 Event no. Orientation et (deg) 1 2 3 f4 10.6 - 5.5 0.1 13.5 16.1 2.0 -6.9 1.5 - 8.5 - 3.2 - 7.0 10.4 8.7 -7.4 24.0 - 11.0 -28.3 19.5
31.4

215

Principal source components (N ~ m ) D33 258.1 185.4 83.7 86.5 542.3 46.8 112.8 94.4 64.6 216.1 186.9 46.1 99.1 174.0 215.5 100.3 71.2 161.7
129.0

D33/DI1
2.7 1.5 2.9 3.6 3.6 2.3 1.9 2.7 2.3 3.6 1.9 2.2 1.8 2.3 2.3 6.2 4.0 3.1
3.0

D11 96.5 125.2 29.3 23.8 150.9 20.7 58.2 35.2 27.8 59.4 97.6 21.3 56.2 77.1 94.5 16.3 17.6 52.6
42.7

~5
6 7 8 9 10
11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

- 25.3 5.9 28.2 2.0 12.8 )1.9 5.8 5.8 2.5 22.7 - 3.5 8.5 23.7 25.3 - 11.0 30.2 22.9 -6.2 - 12.9 - 8.7 6.0 35.8

134.6 167.4 441.7 737.3 107.0 202.0 35.6 173.8 109.9 90.6 110.9 732.7 95.1 179.5 722.9 135.5 94.l 73.9 61.2 104.4 192.4 248.9

40.5 58.6 116.2 401.6 33.9 43.3 14.0 69.9 45.2 32.3 25.0 315.7 8.0 34.2 254.2 78.9 34.8 17.6 28.3 - 1.4 49.2 59.2

3.3 2.9 3.8 1.8 3.2 4.7 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.8 4.4 2.3 12.0 5.3 2.8 1.7 2.7 4.2 2.2 - 74.5 3.9 4.2

(78%) D33/Dll only

lay between < 0. T h u s

1.5 a n d 4.0. F o r 8 e v e n t s D 3 3 / D l l of the emission the largest

>~ 4.0, w h i l e f o r o n e e v e n t with similar stress approximately (D33)

D33/Dll

most

events were associated stress relaxation

fields in a similar orientation, with parallel to the loading axis (x3).

4.3. Assignment of source type

The next stage in characterising the data was to assign the source type, depending on the

v a l u e o f t h e r a t i o D33/Dll. U s i n g S e c t i o n 2 . 6 a s a b a s i s , t h e f o l l o w i n g c r i t e r i a w e r e c h o s e n in order to assign the source type:

216 ( A ) I f D11 > 0, D33 > 0 a n d character of a dilatation. (B) (C) 0.8 < O 3 3 / O l l

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

< 1.25 (i.e. D l l = D33), t h e s o u r c e has the

I f e i t h e r D11 < 0 o r D33 < 0, a n d 0.5 < I D33/DNI < 2.0 (i.e. 911 = - 9 3 3 ) t h e s o u r c e h a s t h e c h a r a c t e r o f s h e a r ( s l i p i n t h e xlx 3 p l a n e ) . I f D H > 0, microcrack. D33 > 0 a n d either 1.25 ~< D 3 3 / D l l ~< 4 . 0 o r 1.25 ~< 9 1 1 / D 3 3 ~< 4.0 (i.e. of a Dal = [ ~ / ( 2 ~ + 2 ~ ) ] D 3 3 o r D H = [(?~ + 2/~)/~k]D33, t h e s o u r c e h a s t h e c h a r a c t e r

( D ) I f e i t h e r I933/D~11 > 4.0 o r I DH/D331 > 4.0, i.e. e i t h e r 911 o r D33 v e r y s m a l l , t h e s o u r c e is b e s t d e s c r i b e d a s a s i n g l e d i p o l e .

Table 6. Characteristics deduced for each emission source event during first monitoring period Event no. Source characteristics Type 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Dipole Dipole Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Dipole Microcrack Microcrack Microcrak Microcrack Dipole Microcrack Dipole Dipole Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Dipole Microcrack Dipole Microcrack Dipole Orientation Horizontal (11 o) Horizontal ( - 6 ) Horizontal (0 ) Horizontal (14 ) Horizontal (16 ) Horizontal (2 ) Horizontal ( - 7 ) Horizontal (2 ) Horizontal ( - 9 ) Horizontal ( - 3 ) Horizontal ( - 7 ) Horizon tal ( 10 o) Horizontal (9 ) Horizontal ( - 7 ) Oblique (24 ) Vertical (79 ) Oblique (62 ) Horizontal (20 ) Oblique (31 ) Oblique ( - 25 ) Horizontal (6 ) Oblique (28 ) Horizontal (2 ) Horizontal (13 ) Oblique (122 ) Horizontal (6 ) Horizontal (6 ) Horizontal (3 o) Oblique (23 ) Vertical (87 ) Horizontal (9 ) Oblique (114 ) Oblique (115 ) Horizontal ( - 11 o) Oblique (30 ) Oblique (23 ) Vertical (84 ) Horizontal ( - 13 ) Vertical (81) Horizontal (6 ) Oblique (126 ) Size 2310/tm 3 1660 ~m 3 750/.tm 3 775/~m 3 4840/~m 3 419 ~m 3 1000 p.m3 844 p,m3 575 p,m3 1930/tm 3 1670 ~ m 3 413 ~m 3 888 ~tm3 1560/~m 3 1930 p,m3 100 N/~m 71 N/~m 1440 ,ttm3 1150/tm 3 1200/tm 3 1490/.tm 3 3940/tm 3 6580 ttm 3 956 ttm3 202 N ~m 319 Ltm3 1550 ttm3 981 ~m 3 806 ttm3 111 N ~m 6540 tLm3 9 5 N Lm 180N ~m 6460 ttm3 1210 tLm3 838 ~tm3 74N zm 544 gm 3 104 N xm 1720 Ltm3 249 N ~m

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

Table 7. Characteristics of emission source events during second monitoring period Event no. Source characteristics Type 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Dipole Dipole Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Microcrack Dipole Microcrack Microcrack Orientation Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal Oblique Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal Vertical Vertical Horizontal Oblique Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal Vertical Oblique Oblique ( - 18 ) (5 ) ( - 6 o) (6 o) ( - 23 ) ( - 14 ) (8 ) (18 ) (106 ) (77 ) (13 ) ( - 28 ) (-20 ) (16 ) (20 ) (101 ) (-25 ) (23 o) Size 506 574 17 740 700 1070 513 14 380 8480 86 N 855 N 1540 1010 1140 1920 363 76 N 1350 2190 Lm3 m3 t m3 xm3

217

,m 3
tm 3

~m3 ~m3
tm

tm ~m 3

~m3 ~m3 ~m3 ~m3

Lm

~m3 ~m3

If none of these criteria hold (e.g. if D l l < 0 and D33 < 0) the source type is unassigned. Table 6 shows that 32 of the 41 events ( - 80%) are identified as having the character of microcracks, the remaining 9 ( - 20%) as single dipoles in the x l x 3 plane.
4.4. Source volume
A s o u r c e v o l u m e w a s c a l c u l a t e d f o r e a c h m i c r o c r a c k e v e n t , u s i n g t h e f o r m u l a b~A = D 3 3 / ( ~ k + 2/~), a n d t h e r e s u l t s a r e g i v e n i n T a b l e 6 t o c o m p l e t e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n . T h e a v e r a g e d e d u c e d m i c r o c r a c k v o l u m e is 1 8 5 0 ~ m 3, a n d t h e a v e r a g e m i c r o c r a c k o r i e n t a t i o n is 6 .
200 P~

150

i ~
-~ - ~

C o nl hne
Channel 2

100
P3 Channel 3

I 10 TimeljJs

I 20

I 30

Figure 11. Data from spurious event. Arrival times correspond to source at lower loading pin. Note combination of positive and negative compression waves.

218

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

Eighteen emission events suitable for characterisation were recorded during the second monitoring period of - 500 cycles (a similar event rate to the first monitoring period). These data were analysed by exactly the same method, and the deduced source characteristics are given in Table 7. The statistics are somewhat similar to Table 6. 15 events ( - 80%) are assigned as microcracks, while the remaining 3 are best described as single dipoles in the x l x 3 plane. The average source strength for the microcrack events was larger, 3570 ~m 3, but this was heavily weighted by two large events (3 and 7). Without these the average strengths would be similar. The mean orientations ( - 4 ) , were again approximately horizontal. While strenuous efforts had been made to eliminate spurious acoustic events (Section 3), a few such events were recorded. Figure 11 is an example of a spurious event recorded during the first period of cyclic fatigue. Note first that the time delays between the arrivals are different from the other data (Figs. 7-10). The location of the source event was deduced to be approximately x = - 1 3 ram, z = - 1 9 mm, which corresponds to a point on the lower loading pin. Note also that while /'1 and P3 are positive, P4 and P2 are negative. This alternation of arrival polarities indicates an event with shear or slip character, rather than dilatational or crack-like character, and is consistent with fretting between the lower pin and the specimen.
5. Discussion

This study has demonstrated that multichannel waveform analysis can be used to characterise the emission events associated with the advance of a fatigue crack in 7010 aluminium alloy. Using four recording channels, each source event has been characterised in terms of the associated two-dimensional point-force dipole (or seismic moment) tensor neglecting initially the effects of the fatigue precrack. Further analysis has enabled each event to be assigned a source type, orientation, and size. Eighty percent of the recorded events that were located at, or near, the crack tip were mode I crack-like in character, the average orientation being approximately horizontal (i.e. normal to the principal stress axis), and the average size being - 2000/tm 3. To the best of their knowledge, the authors believe this is the first published application of quantitative characterisation techniques to fatigue crack growth. In a previous study [14] of fatigue crack growth in 7010 alloy, using a cylindrical tensile specimen with 1-D location and very limited characterisation capabilities, the major source of acoustic emission was believed to be the fracture a n d / o r decohesion of inclusions at, or close to, the crack tip, which was consistent with the results of other studies of fatigue in aluminium alloys. This conclusion however was to a large extent circumstantial, lacking direct evidence that each recorded signal had been generated by microfracture rather than, say, slip due to dislocation motion in the plastic zone ahead of the fatigue crack. The present study offers some direct evidence for the majority of the emission events being generated by microfracture rather than slip. To assign the events to inclusion ~fracture rather than to primary crack advance (i.e. ductile tearing), or to the secondary cracking that was observed approximately perpendicular to the plane of the fatigue crack is less straightforward. The low rate of emission (less than 1 event in 20 cycles on average at this stage in the fatigue) argues against purely ductile tearing, since this occurs every cycle. Ductile tearing is in any case known to be a quiet process in most aluminium alloys. The emission rate would however be consistent with the fracture of inclusions [14], either when traversed by the fatigue crack, or just ahead of the crack in the advancing plastic zone. Secondary cracking is unlikely to be responsible for the majority of the events, since it would be more probably identified by vertical rather than horizontal mode I microcracking, a n d / o r by mode II and mode III

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

219

loading. It is also unlikely that transducers 2 and 3 or 4, on opposite sides of the fatigue crack would record signals of similar amplitude and rise time from a secondary crack on one side of this crack. The typical emission event was characterised as a microcrack of volume - 2000 ~ m 3. Let us assume that it was generated by the elastic fracture of a brittle inclusion. A circular crack of radius a, will open up to have an elliptical cross-section, with the crack opening, 2b, at the centre given by [15]: 2b = [4(1 - ~,)/~E] oa. Thus the crack volume 8 V = 4~a2b = 8(a - ~ ) o a 3 / 3 e . Hence (34)

(35)
(36)

a = [ 3 E 6 V / 8 ( 1 - u)o] '/3.

Substituting E = 7.1 101 N m -2 and v = 1 / 3 for aluminium, and assuming a local stress of % = 5 108 N m z, gives a = 50/~m for a typical microfracture event. The mean inclusion size was - 1/~m [14] but we assume that emission events were generated by the fracture of the largest inclusions ( - 10/tm). Thus the deduced source diameter is an order of magnitude greater than the largest inclusions. A reason for this discrepancy can be found in [6] where cleavage crack extension in mild steel compact tension specimens of similar geometry was studied. Here a source volume distribution was produced with a mean value of - 2 5 0 0 0 ~ m 3. These source strengths were 8 10 times greater than in earlier tests with Yobell specimens [4] where there was no macroscopic crack, only microcracks. This increase in apparent source strength, or "amplification" was believed to be due to the presence of the precrack, which itself opens up further in response to the stress relaxation at the crack tip when it advances. This extra opening adds substantially (the authors estimated an order of magnitude increase during a compression wave pulse lasting - 500 ns) to the apparent source volume. A more recent publication [16] considers this problem more rigorously, and deduces "amplification factors" varying from 1 to 106 depending on parameters such as the relative sizes and positions of microcrack and macrocrack. It is thought probable that the fatigue crack in the aluminium alloy has had a similar amplification effect on the deduced source strengths for inclusion fracture at, or close to, the crack tip. The volume amplification factors for the data of Tables 6 and 7 are in the range 10z-104. These are in broad agreement with the data (Table 1) of [16] provided the microcrack coalesces with the fatigue precrack. Without coalescence, the calculated factors are too small. This work however raises an interesting question. Achenbach et al. [16] comment that for the configurations of macrocrack and microcrack they studied, the most pronounced features of the waveforms can be attributed to the presence of the macrocrack. Does this mean therefore that the source characteristics deduced in the present study relate to the fatigue crack and not to the inclusion fracture events at the tip? Of the three source characteristics chosen above (type, size and orientation), source size certainly seems to have been affected by the presence of the fatigue crack. However, the situation is not so clear regarding source type and orientation. There were considerable variations in the ratio D33/Dl! used to assign source type. Although most events had D33/Dll = 2 which would be consistent with both microcrack and macrocrack opening, 20% of the events could not thus be described. Similarly, although the average orientation was horizontal, there were a number of events apparently with oblique orientation. If it is true that the macrocrack amplifies every event at the crack tip, then the data suggest that it does not necessarily impose its own character fully on each event (i.e. horizontal, mode I opening

220
O:O"

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

Theoretical e:0"

180"

180'

(0)

(b)

Figure 12. Showing theoretical variation with angle 0 of elastic wave radiation from (a) formation of microcrack, (b) extension of crack. Pj are experimental data for event 28 (corrected for propagation distance), which fit either model in 2-D.

crack), but may amplify the characteristics of the source event. More work is clearly needed in this area to resolve some of these questions. The presence of the fatigue crack also modifies the directivity of an acoustic source at the crack tip. However the angular radiation pattern calculated for the propagation of a 2-D mode I crack [17] only differs significantly from that for a point microcrack for 225 .5.<8 < 305 (Fig. 12). In the fatigue crack monitoring experiment all the transducers were located outside this angular range, where modifications due to the effects of the fatigue crack boundary can largely be ignored. The amplitude data for one event (signal 28 in the first monitoring period) whose orientation was deduced to be approximately horizontal, is shown in Fig. 12, scaled in turn to the point microcrack, and crack extension models. The fit is very similar in each case, with a correlation of R = 0.96. It is important to discuss the errors that were introduced by treating the problem as two-dimensionaL If the emission event were at one end of the crack (i.e. y = + 20 mm), the worst case, instead of the centre, the errors introduced into the location would typically be x = (4.0 + 0.8) mm, z = ( - 0 . 2 5-0.06) mm, which are negligible. The errors would be proportionately greater for events a greater distance from the origin, but in this study these were spurious events, e.g. fretting of the loading pins. Neglecting the y coordinate of each event also introduces errors into the characterisation. If the source is a horizontal microcrack (i.e. D13 = D12 =/923 = 0) located on the crack front at (4, y, 0), and if is the angle between the propagation path and the xlx 3 plane, then for transducers 1 and 2, ~ = tan - l ( y / 2 1 ) and tan -1 ( y / 2 4 ) respectively. Equation (23) is replaced by: u = [ ( D H sin20 + D33 c0s20) cos2, + D22 sin2,] Rp/4~r(?~ + 21~)clr'. If ~ is small Rp = 2 cos ~, (37)

r'=rsecep.

(38)

Substituting Dll = 1)22 = 0.5/933 for J, = 1 / 3 in (37) yields uc~ cos2~[cos2~( sin20 + cos20) + 1 sin2~] D33. (39)

Characterisation of fatigue crack extension

Thus at transducer 1, where 0 = 90 , u Icc 011 cos2~, while at transducer 2, where 0 = 0 ,
U 2 CIC COS2q~)(COS2dt ) q- 1 sin2q5) D33 = 1 ( c 0 s 2 ~ --I- c o s 4 q ~ ) D 3 3 .

221

(40)

(41)

Thus for y = _+10 mm, u will be reduced at transducers 1 and 2 by factors of 0.82 and 0.79 respectively. For the worst case, y = _ + 2 0 mm, the factors are 0.52 and 0.47 respectively, i.e. the source strengths are underestimated. The errors at transducers 3 and 4 will be intermediate between transducers 1 and 2. Note however that while large errors ( - 50%) are likely to occur in the arrival strengths, the errors in the ratio u2/u 1 are much less (3% for y = 10 mm, 11% for y = 20 mm). It is the ratios of the arrival strengths rather than their absolute values that control source type and orientation, so that much of the 2-D characterisation should be relatively insensitive to y. To test this assertion the inversion routine was used on simulated arrival strength data, calculated for 0 < y ~< 20 mm, the source being a horizontal microcrack of volume 1000 # m 3. For the extreme value of y = 20 mm, the routine deduced the source volume to be 500/~m 3, an underestimate by 50%. However the error in dipole ratio was only 1% and the error in orientation 4 . Thus neglecting the values of y for each event does not account for the orientation and dipole ratio variations in Tables 5-7. Other sources of errors are due to the inherent difficulties in calibrating piezoelectric transducers for transient pulse measurement, and to the inversion (deconvolution) procedure. Furthermore, piezoelectric transducers are known to be slightly sensitive to parallel as well as perpendicular surface motion. Considerable care was taken after mounting the transducers on the specimen to ensure all the channels had the same gain, by using the pulsed laser source. However, s o m e possible frequency-dependent variations in transducer response could still have been present, estimated at no more than 5% on any one channel. Inversion and deconvolution techniques are notoriously prone to error depending on the errors in the input data. During simulated tests of the inversion procedure used above, an error of 5% on a single channel typically produced errors ~< 5% in any one dipole component after orientation. The error in the ratio D33/D11 (used to deduce source type) was 5%, but the error in orientation angle a was larger, - 10%. Errors on two or more channels cause larger errors on the source data, especially a. The safest way to reduce error is to increase the numbers of measurements (and hence equations) for a fixed number of unknowns. The four measurements for three unknowns used here give some improvement over three measurements, but considerably more are needed to reduce errors significantly. The next stage in the programme is to extend the work to three dimensions, using six independent transducer channels to deduce all six components of the source. The two additional transducers will be attached to the side walls of the specimen, to enable both the x 2 coordinate of the location event to be measured in addition to arrival amplitudes that are related to D22, D12 and D23. It is hoped that these further measurements will confirm the mode I crack character of the majority of the events, and also give more information on those 20% of the events that were assigned as dipoles, because D~ was much smaller than D33 and information on the strength of D22 was absent. It is also hoped to carry out source c.haracterisation during the monitoring of structural components. Although there is a need to manufacture more robust point-contact transducers, the present design has the potential to be used with care for experimental structural monitoring. The data recording system is also sufficiently compact to be transported to other sites. All the analysis has been performed using a minicomputer. The programs are not long, execution is fast, and the memory requirements are modest. There

222

C.B. Scruby, G.R. Baldwin and K.A. Stacey

is n o r e a s o n t h e r e f o r e w h y c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n a n a l y s i s s h o u l d n o t b e c a r r i e d o u t e i t h e r d u r i n g , o r i m m e d i a t e l y after, a p e r i o d of s t r u c t u r a l m o n i t o r i n g . It is h o p e d t h a t the a b i l i t y to c h a r a c t e r i s e c r a c k g r o w t h , as d e m o n s t r a t e d in this study, will s i g n i f i c a n t l y i m p r o v e t h e v a l u e o f a c o u s t i c e m i s s i o n as a t e c h n i q u e for m a t e r i a l s t e s t i n g o r s t r u c t u r a l s u r v e i l l a n c e .

Acknowledgements
W e g r a t e f u l l y a c k n o w l e d g e the a s s i s t a n c e o f P r o f e s s o r G . W e a t h e r l y , D r J. T i t c h m a r s h , a n d M r L. A n t o n i a z z i d u r i n g this study. T h e w o r k w a s p a r t i a l l y f u n d e d b y M i n i s t r y of Defence (Procurement Executive), through Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, w h o also s u p p l i e d t h e m a t e r i a l .

References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] J.C. Spanner, in Advances in Acoustic Emission, Dunhart, USA (1981) 1-14. C.B. Scruby and H.N.G. Wadley, Progress in Nuclear Energy 11 (1983) 275-297. P.H. Hutton and J.R. Skorpik, ISA Transactions 20 (1981) 79-83. H.N.G. Wadley, C.B. Scruby, and G. Shrimpton, Acta Metallurgica 29 (1981) 399-414. C.B. Scruby, H.N.G. Wadley and J.J. Hill Journal of Physics D16 1983) 1069-1083. H.N.G: Wadley and C.B. Scruby, InternationalJournal of Fracture 19 (1983) 111-128. R. Burridge and L. Knopoff, Bulletin of the SeismologicalSociety of America 54 (1964) 1875-1888. J.E. Sinclair, Journal of Physics D12 (1979) 1309-1315. K. Aid and P.O. Richards, Quantitative Seismology, Vol. 1, Freeman, San Francisco (1980). J.D. Achenbach, Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids, Elsevier, New York (1973). T.M. Proctor, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 71 (1983) 1163-1168. C.B. Scruby, AERE Report - Rl1328 (1984). C.B. Scruby, H.N.G. Wadley, R.J. Dewhurst, D.A. Hutchins and S.B. Palmer, Materials Evaluation 39 (1981) 1250-254. G. Weatherly, J.M. Titchmarsh, and C.B. Scruby, AERE-Rll167 (1984). A.E. Green and W. Zerna, TheoreticalElasticity Clarendon Press, Oxford (1954). J.D. Achenbach, K. Hirashima and K. Ohno, Journal of Sound and Vibration 89 (1983) 523-532. J.D. Achenbach and J. Harris, Journal of Applied Mechanics 46 (1979) 107-112.

R6sum6
On a utilis6 un syst6me 6talonn6 d'enregistrement h quatre canaux d'ondes dastiques pour d6tecter et caract6riser les zones d'6mission acoustiques associ6es h la croissance d'une fissure de fatigue dans une 6prouvette compacte de traction d'un ailiage d'aluminium 7010. Les transducteurs captent le champ d'onde dastique dans quatre directions ind6pendantes d'un plan perpendiculaire ~ ia fissure. Par une inversion du tenseur de Green, on d6duit une repr6sentation de chaque 6mission suppos~e ~tre ponctuelle par un dipole de forces ~ deux dimensions. On caract6rise ensuite chaque 6mission par le type de source d'6mission (micro-rupture, glissement, etc.), par son orientation par rapport h la fissure de fatigue, et par son importance (par ex. volume de ia fissure). On a pu 6tablir que toutes les 6missions - ~ l'exception de celles dont il 6tait clair qu'elles provenaient des efforts dus aux tenons de raise en charge - 6taient localis6es dans une zone de 0,5 mm en avant de la pointe de la fissure. On a constat6 6galement que 807O des zones d'~mission d6tect6es 6taient caract6ristiques d'une rupture, et se trouvaient le plus souvent orient6es parall61ement h la fissure de fatigue. La taille typique de ces zones est de 2000 microns cubes. On pense que la principale 6mission d'onde est la rupture fragile d'une inclusion h l'extr6mit6 d'une fissure ou en son voisinnage imm6diat. Let inclusions les plus grandes ( ~ 10 microns) se sont r6v616es beaucoup plus petites que la taille des sources d'6mission telle que d6duite des mesures, ce qui implique que la fissure de fatigue modifie l'irradiation d'onde 61astique en provenance des inclusions, et accroit la puissance apparente d'6mission. Toutefois, le mod61e de source ponctuelle s'est r6v616 le mieux correspondre h ia plupart des r6sultats, avec des erreurs r6siduelles de moins de 107o.