Understanding Acoustic Emission Testing- Reading 1 Part B-A

1. The total number of counts (e.g., 13 counts in Figure 16.4). Since the
shape of a burst emission is generally a damped sinusoid, pulses of higher
amplitude will generate more counts.
2. The count rate. This is the number of counts per unit of time; it is
particularly useful when very large numbers of counts are recorded.
3. The mean pulse amplitude. This may be determined by using a root-mean
square meter, and is an indication of the amount of energy being
dissipated.
Clearly, the information obtained using this method of analysis depends upon
both the gain and the threshold setting. Ring-down counting is affected
greatly by the characteristics of the transducer, and the geometry of the test
specimen (which may cause internal reflections) and may not be indicative of
the nature of the acoustic emission event. In addition, there is no obvious way
of determining the amount of energy released by a single event, or the total
number of separate acoustic events giving rise to the counts.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang