Internal Leakage Predicition of Hydraulic Spool valves Based on Acoustic Emission Technology

In order to realize the nondestructive testing (NDT) of the internal leakage fault of hydraulic spool valves, the internal leakage rate must be predicted by AE (acoustic emission) technology. An AE experimental platform of internal leakage of hydraulic spool valves is built to study the characteristics of AE signals of internal leakage and the relationship between AE signals and leakage rates. The research results show the AE signals present a wideband characteristic. The main frequencies are concentrated in 30~50 kHz and the peak frequency is around 40 kHz. When the leakage rate is large, there are significant signal characteristics appearing in the high frequency band of 75~100 kHz. The exponent of the root mean square(RMS) of AE signals is positively correlated with the exponent of the leakage rate only if the leakage rate is greater than 2~3 mL/min. This find could be used to predict the internal leakage rate of hydraulic spool valves.