Abstract

Application of signal processing techniques to nondestructive evaluation (NDE) in general and acoustic emission (AE) studies in particular has become a standard tool in determining the frequency characteristics of the signals and relating these characteristics to the integrity of the structure under consideration. Recent studies have shown that the frequency characteristics of ultrasonic signals from evolving damage during cyclic (fatigue) and dynamic loads change with time; in other words, the signals are nonstationary, and that these changes can be related to the nature of the damage taking place during loading. A joint time-frequency analysis such as Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), can in principle be used to determine the time dependent frequency characteristics of nonstationary signals in presence of background noise. In this study these techniques are applied to analyze AE signals from fatigue crack propagation in 5083 aluminum alloys and ultrasonic signals in degraded austenitic 316 stainless steels, to study the evolution of damage in these materials. It is demonstrated that the nonstationary characteristics of both AE and ultrasonic signals could be analyzed effectively by these methods. STFT was found to be more effective in analyzing AE signals, and WVD was more effective for analyzing the attenuation and frequency characteristics of degraded materials through ultrasonics. It is indicated that the time-frequency analysis methods should also be useful in evaluating crack propagation and final fracture process resulting from various damages and defects in structural members.

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