Acoustic Emission Monitoring in Cultural Heritage Applications

Presenter: Vallen Systeme GmbH, Wolfratshausen, Germany Abstract: A reliable prediction of early-stage damage, the progression of defects or to confirm certain predictions at an early stage, is a key discipline in cultural heritage research. The Acoustic Emission (AE) method is one of the tools that fulfills this requirement, because it’s a highly sensitive technique. It is already applied to many projects in the cultural heritage community in the US, Europe and Australia. Some worldwide applied applications are, the monitoring of crack development in wood at changing temperature and humidity in museums, the inspection of Termites in wood, or the inspection of insect infestation in roof trusses or wood frames of heritage automobiles. The following two pictures are showing a monitoring project at the V&A museum in London and the inspection of an insect infestation at a Mary Statue at a church in Germany. But every Acoustic Emission application has its own way! For established applications, you can probably take a shortcut, by consulting experts in this field. But finally, it is also an investment in terms of time and budget. AE Sensors, data acquisition systems and software are not comparable with standard measurement equipment and gaining experience is a journey of months and even years. That's why the Vallen Systeme Team is dedicated to transferring knowledge to our customers. This process begins with the project kick-off, where we aim to understand the application, share our insights on its feasibility, and recommend a system configuration tailored to your specific challenges. Universities and research groups play a crucial role at Vallen Systeme, as they are instrumental in shaping the future of society, technology, and our environment. To support these efforts, we provide Letters of Intent (LoI), participate in funded projects, and attend conferences. This presentation was part of the Mechanical Insights: Shaping the Future of Museum Collection Symposium. View details and the full symposium program here: https://www.getty.edu/projects/mechan... Part of Getty Conservation Institute’s Managing Collection Environment Initiative: https://www.getty.edu/projects/managi...