Acoustic emission sensor for identification of chemical reactions

This paper describes a novel acoustic wave sensor designed for identification of chemical reactions. The principle of operation of the sensor is based on the acoustic emission (AE) phenomena. Chemical changes taking place during reactions are accompanied by energy transfer with some of the energy converted into acoustic waves. The AE waves frequency spectra exhibited unique patterns for the studied chemical reactions, and were used for their identification. A backpropagating neural network was used to implement the recognition of the AE chemical pattern. Potential applications of the AE chemical sensor include process control in the chemical, food, medical and pharmaceutical industries.