Monitoring the hydrotesting of a new pressure vessel by means of acoustic emission

Acoustic emission (AE) generated during hydrotesting of a new spherical pressure vessel ( a prototype horton sphere) has been monitored by using a multi channel AE test system. The results show that for AE testing of a new pressure vessel, repressurization should immediately start following the hydrotest, and the data from the 2nd loading cycle should be used to evaluate the condition of the vessel. It has been observed that the peak amplitude of AE signals can be used as an acceptance criterion for integrity assessment of containment vessels through AE technique