Feature extraction of AE characteristics in offshore structure model using Hilbert-Huang transform

This paper addresses an application of recently developed signal processing tool based on the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) to characterize the acoustic emission (AE) signals released from the offshore structure model. The AE signals from the cracks in the welded steel nodes of the offshore structure model are collected during the tensile testing in water and the simulated AE signals are also collected in the offshore structure model. Instantaneous frequency and energy features based on local properties of the AE signals are then extracted using the Hilbert-Huang transform method. In order to demonstrate the advantage of the AE feature extraction techniques based on Hilbert-Huang transform, the conventional AE analysis is also provided side-by-side for comparison. The results verify that the method based on HHT better characterizes the AE signals than the classical AE techniques. It can be concluded that the AE signal analysis based on HHT is an effective tool to extract the features and this opens perspectives for crack recognition in offshore structures. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.