Utilization of Acoustic Emission Phenomenon and Its Applications in Mechanical Engineering

With increasing production rate in modern production lines and expectations of high speed and precision as well asminimum waste, the necessity of new and applied methods for monitoring and testing of components and equipment are increasinglysought after. Particularly, in experimental mechanics, Acoustic Emission Technique (AET) has demonstrated its potential andreliability over a period of three decades in certain mechanical applications. The obvious feature of this approach is on-lineapplicability which is matched with high production rate. In the past, AE method was done under supervision of operators, whichrequires more concentration than before with the advancement of automated systems. In this paper, attempts are made to addressnumber of applications of AET and related researches being done in the last ten years in the field of mechanical engineering. Theseapplications include: structural health monitoring, quality control, system feedback, process monitoring, and other mechanicalapplications. Finally, perspectives of future mechanical applications that the AE method could be used are discussed.