Acoustic emission signal processing of the pressure relief valve

The basic parameters of the pressure relief valve are the flow rate through the valve and the level of hydraulic fluid pressure. Both parameters are easy to measure in laboratory conditions but very often quite troublesome in common process conditions. That is why we are looking for additional approaches to substitute the direct flow rate and pressure measurement. One of them is acoustic emission measurement and consequent and convenient data processing. The intensity of acoustic emission generated by fluid power elements can be evaluated in various ways. The frequency range for consecutive evaluation, which is application dependent, can be established experimentally only. The paper discusses the possibilities of acoustic emission measurement and data processing in the frequency range above 25 kHz. The FFT analysis was performed for evaluation purposes and the CFD simulation in the Ansys CFX environment was carried out as well.