A single channel Acoustic Emission (AE) system to detect Hydrogen Induced Cracking (H1C) growth in steel structures was developed. The system consists of a commercial AE sensor and an in-house built data acquisition and processing unit. The system is designed for industrial applications, and can be permanently installed on assets operating in sour environments to detect the growth of HIC, and to qualitatively indicate its rate of growth. Previous literature has been able to discriminate HIC-related AE events from other events captured during failure, and has shown that the energy and duration of the AE events can be used for HIC detection. The system developed here was tested in a laboratory where HIC was induced in HIC-susceptible steel coupons. The experimental setup considered here overcame previous limitations, and produced representative test settings that simulate realistic field conditions. Preliminary Ultrasonic Tomography (UT) results, combined with a filtering method from the literature were promising but not conclusive. Additional testing is being conducted to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the measurements.
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