Acoustic emission linear pulse holography

A device which performs acoustic emission linear pulse holography, which combines the advantages of linear holographic imaging and acoustic emission into a single nondestructive inspection system is discussed. This system produces a chronological, linear holographic image of a flaw by utilizing the acoustic energy emitted during crack growth. The innovation is the concept of utilizing the crack generated acoustic emission energy to generate a chronological series of images of a growing crack by applying linear, pulse holographic processing to the acoustic emission data. The process is implemented by placing on a structure an array of piezoelectric sensors near the defect location. A reference sensor is placed between the defect and the array.