ABSTRACT
Piezoelectric transducers are used as both transmitters and sensors in acoustic emission (AE) testing applications. However, the transducer outputs are significantly affected by the coupling between the transducer and the structure. This paper shows that by integrating a piezoelectric AE sensor to the backing of a conical piezoelectric transducer acting as the transmitter, a new self-calibrating AE standard energy point source can be obtained. This should enable the strength of the simulated AE point source to be determined from the AE measurement by the backing sensor, and hence to facilitate in-situ energy calibration of acoustic emissions in structures.
