Acoustic Emission Testing for offshore jacket structures

Abstract

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a critical tool to assess the structural integrity of many applications. Early detection for damage can extend the lifetime for structures through replacing damaged parts and can lower the maintenance costs and increases human safety. To evaluate the severity of damage in metallic structures, several Non-Destructive methods are used. Therefore, the need for the acoustic emission (AE) technique, as one of the non-destructive test methods, arose that can overcome the need for specialized technician, high inspection costs and can provide many benefits for monitoring the health of the structure. AE is a phenomenon that occurs when an elastic wave generates from rapidly released energy inside a material, for instance, at the initiation of a crack. The acoustic emissions testing has been used in condition monitoring for civil structures and aerospace fields. It can monitor the overall structural integrity continuously during real-time operation and detects any growing defects. The aim of this thesis is to learn about the potential and limitations of AET as a monitoring tool for offshore jacket structures and assess how AET may be beneficial as an SHM tool for detection of yielding in offshore jacket structures. The 3-point bending tests have shown significant outcomes for using AE in detecting some defects as material’s yield, dislocations and crack initiation in structures made of steel. Moreover, it can be used to detect the flaw from several meters depending on attenuation and conditions effect.