Time delay estimation for acoustic source location by means of short-time cross-correlation

This article presents a method which can be used for online Acoustic Emission (AE) source location in a composite plate by means of time delay estimations. A short-time cross-correlation function from the envelope of the two signals, has been developed. This method allows to estimate the time delay in the early coherent part of the signals, which is especially suitable in a very dispersive medium such as composite material. Experimental results, obtained with a glass-fiber/epoxy plate equipped with piezoelectric transducers, show that a balance of simplicity, accuracy and robustness can be achieved by using this method.