On-line analysis of hydro-abrasive erosion of pre-cracked materials by acoustic emission

Acoustic Emission (AE) sensing technique is used as a tool for on-line monitoring of hydro-abrasive erosion (HAE) of pre-cracked multiphase materials. As reference materials, five types of concrete materials were used for the experimental study. Compression tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties and the failure behavior of these materials. Erosion parameters, such as abrasive particle velocity, local exposure time, and abrasive mass flow rate were varied during the experiments and AE-signals were acquired. The trends exhibited by the time domain and frequency domain AE-signals with change in process parameters and material properties were analyzed. The results indicate that acoustic emission signal is capable of revealing the different material removal mechanisms occurring in pre-cracked multiphase materials when subjected to hydro-abrasive erosion. Visualization studies performed on the erosion site provide more insight into the physics of the process and verify the observations made from the AE-signals. Finally, it is concluded that due to its capability to quantify the amount of material removed, AE_RMS could be considered as a parameter for monitoring the material removal process.