Using AE Testing Method for Condition Monitoring in Wind Turbine Shaft

Acoustic emission (AE) method of nondestructive check is based on exertion wave radiation and their registration during fast local material structure reorganization. It is used as a means of analysis of materials, constructions, productions control and diagnosis during operating time. In the article, it is applied to structural health monitoring of Wind Turbine Shaft (WTS). Acoustic emission testing has been used for years to test metallic structures. More recently it has become the primary method of testing WTS. However in large structures, the high acoustic attenuation in WTS precludes amplitude analysis unless the origin of the individual signals can be identified and corrections for the distances traveled applied to the signal amplitudes. The usual method of testing WTS structures has been applied an array of sensors spaced so that a moderate amplitude AE signal will just barely trigger each sensor occurring midway between them.