Acoustic emission onset time detection for structural monitoring with U-Net neural network architecture

Acoustic Emission (AE) is a non-destructive structural health monitoring technique, which studies elastic waves emitted during crack formation. Utilizing piezoelectric sensors, these waves are converted into electrical signals for subsequent analysis, offering insights into crack propagation and structural durability. This study focuses on the identification of AE signal onset times, crucial for determining crack locations. Conventional methods often encounter challenges with background noise, prompting the need for innovative approaches. Leveraging a U-Net neural network, specialized in segmentation tasks, onset time identification is approached as a one-dimensional segmentation challenge. Through training and testing on Pencil Lead Break (PLB) test data, commonly used in AE evaluations, the effectiveness of the method is demonstrated even with continuous signals, suggesting potential applicability in real-time monitoring.