The development of high fidelity acoustic emission transducers

The development of a transducer which measures the normal displacement of a ''point'' on a surface is reviewed. This transducer has sufficient bandwidth so that it can measure, with high sensitivity, the dynamic surface motion due to an AE event. Certain improvements in the design are discussed. Captured waveforms from the best model of the transducer are compared with theoretical elasticity predictions of surface displacement. The transducer will be made available for purchase as a transfer standard through the Standard Reference Materials Program of the National Bureau of Standards. Preliminary results from a new transducer for measuring tangential surface motion are also presented