Improved Method for Acoustic Emission Source Location Based on DFB Laser Sensor and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

Acoustic emission (AE) location is important for finding the structural crack and ensuring the structural safety. Fiber laser sensors have ability to replace traditional piezoelectric sensors in acquiring AE source position information. In this article, improved AE source localization accuracy method based on distributed feedback (DFB) fiber laser sensor and particle swarm optimization (PSO) was proposed. Parameters, such as the effect of interferometer arm length difference and the directivity of the DFB sensor, were analyzed. Compare the results of hyperbolic localization algorithm and PSO algorithm for locating AE sources on plexiglass panels. The experimental results show that the particle swarm localization algorithm used in this article has a higher localization accuracy than the traditional hyperbolic localization algorithm. The localization error is reduced by 39% to 0.41 cm, which is expected to be applied in the field of building structural health.