Fifty Years in the Technology of Acoustic Emission(1961-2011)

This paper has a description of some of the Acoustic Emission projects that I have been involved with during the past 50 years. While my career in AE started with determining the residual strength of a glass and epoxy composite cylindrical pressure vessel it quickly expanded into many different materials, products and structures. In this paper I present information on efforts in; non-metallic and metallic pressure vessels; factors effecting AE; identification of modes of deformation; noise rejection methods; leak detection in Above Ground Storage Tanks; combining AE with UT; Acousto-Ultrasonic examination of wood particle boards; in-flight monitoring of Aircraft structure; and determination of water stress in grape plants and others.