Interferometric technique for the calibration of the helium gas jet spectrum

An interferometric technique is described for making absolute measurements of the frequency spectrum of the stress waves produced in an Al cylinder by an He jet which is a candidate for calibration instrument for acoustic emission (AE) NDE. A stabilized heterodyne interferometer (SHI) is employed to measure the surface displacements in the face of the Al cylinder opposite the He jet. The measured waveforms were analyzed by Fourier transformations and stored for comparisons with previous findings by McBride (1976). The gas jet, although lacking the characteristics of a white broadband noise spectrum, was found to be reproducible. The spectrum was determined to be controlled by the Al cylinder, implying that alternate, tailored spectra that includes white noise could be obtained with an appropriate choice of materials.