Acoustic wave propagation in austenitic stainless steel AISI 304L: Application examples

Prior to the detection and monitoring by acoustic emission of defects in steel, this paper deals with the use of waveguide that avoids direct contact between the sensor and monitoring structure when working at high temperature. The study of the waveguide effect on elastic wave transmission shows that waveguide deforms the waveform but it does not affect its frequency. Waveguide length does not affect signal magnitude. An experimental example of compact tensile specimen monitoring by acoustic emission is given. The monitoring of the damage at low and high temperature “450 °C” by acoustic emission enables us to identify crack propagation stages and their acoustic signature.

► This paper deals with the use of waveguide that avoids direct contact between the sensor and monitoring structure when working at high temperature.
► The objective is the development of nondestructive testing by acoustic emission (AE) of pressure equipment (PE) operating at high temperature.
► The use of AE in this work has underlined high temperature mechanical behavior in terms of damage and crack propagation.