Narayan Joshi

Ауах D. Ramirez
Stephen D. Russell
David Brock

Acoustic Emission Technology

for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes
 Preface

Acoustic emission (AE) refers to the generation of transient elastic waves by a

sudden redistribution of stress in a material. When a structure such as a pressure
vessel is subjected to an external stimulus, for instance a change in pressure, load,
or temperature, localized sources trigger the release of energy in the form of stress
waves that propagate to the surface. Acoustic emission sensors, coupled to the sur-
face of the structure under test, record the emitted stress waves. The stress applied
to materials under test could be tensile, compressive, or shear. The transient elastic
stress waves of AE have frequencies ranging from 20 kHz to 1 MHz.

Experimental research work shows that AE activity could be generated by many

different mechanisms, such as mechanical deformation, fracture, crack propaga-
tion, dislocation motion and multiplication, twin formation, phase transformation,
corrosion, friction, and internal magnetic processes. Mechanical loading is not
the only way to generate AE activity (phonon signals). Thermal shock loading and
electrical sparking have also caused AE activity. Generation of AE activity during
chemical reactions has also been observed. It was realized quite early in the research
that AE activity appears in two types: burst signals and continuous signals.

In recent years, it was realized that high-power microwave radar tubes needed
simple non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques for in-situ performance moni-
toring. Microwave vacuum tubes used in high-power radar and communications
systems have a lifetime of a few thousand active hours before refurbishment is
required. When a costly tube fails, it is generally impossible to determine the
sequence of events that contributed to its failure. Each year, nearly $100 million is
spent replacing high-power microwave tubes in the fleet. In many cases, estimated
at over 25%, tubes that operate perfectly are inadvertently replaced because of
insufficient in-situ monitoring equipment available to diagnose specific problems
within the system. This results in high maintenance and refurbishing costs.

Currently, microprocessor-based systems with as many as eleven sensors are

designed to monitor tube performance, provide tube protection, and record a com-
prehensive tube failure history. A major limitation with these systems is the small
amount of time available during the tube interpulse period for data buffering and
fault analysis. These monitoring systems work well if the microwave tube is oper-
ated at rates of 200 pulses per second or less. Typically, these tubes are operated at
up to 1000 pulses per second, with a pulse duration of 1 microsecond. Increasing
the data acquisition speed will, in this case, make the situation worse, since it will
increase the amount of data that must be transferred and analyzed during the small
time interval available. Therefore, although microprocessor-based monitoring
systems have merits, they also have limitations. So, there is a need for a different
non-destructive examination (NDE) solution that would overcome the limitations
created by high-pulse repetition rates.

Research over the past several years has established the effectiveness of acoustic
emissionAE-based sensing methodologies for machine condition analysis and pro-
cess monitoring. The success of AE NDT for many different applications directed
us to try AE as an advanced NDT method for in-situ performance monitoring of
high-power microwave tubes. These experiments proved the feasibility of AE as a
real-time nondestructive testing technique, which is much simpler than the mul-
tisensor microprocessor-based systems. This book presents the results of this new
application of AE testing to different types of microwave high-power radar tubes.

Narayan R. Joshi, PhD

IV
Acoustic Emission Technology
for High-Power Microwave Radar
Tubes
Narayan R. Joshi, Ayax D. Ramirez, Stephen D. Russell and
David W. Brock

Abstract

Microwave tubes used in high-power radar and communications systems are

expensive and have an operating life of a few thousand hours. When one fails, it
is generally impossible to determine the sequence of events that contributed to its
failure. Previous investigators have designed microprocessor-based systems with
as many as 11 sensors to monitor tube performance, provide tube protection, and
record a comprehensive tube failure history. These systems are limited by the small
amount of time available during the tube’s interpulse period for data buffering and
fault analysis. They work well if the microwave tube is operated with 200 or fewer
pulses per second. However, many tubes are operated at up to 1000 pulses per
second. In this effort, an alternative nondestructive testing technique using acoustic
emission (AE) was used for in-situ monitoring of normal and abnormal perfor-
mance of radar tubes, including a magnetron, a klystron, and a traveling wave tube
amplifier. This technique captures changes in radio frequency (RF) output pulses
due to irregular operation and it is a real-time instantaneous in-situ indicator of the
performance of microwave radar tubes. It also offers the possibility of developing
built-in prognostic capabilities within the radar system to provide advanced warn-
ing of a system malfunction. Understanding the sequence of events leading to a
tube failure allows for better maintenance, extends the operating life of the system,
and results in significant cost avoidance.

Keywords: acoustic, emission, technology, microwave, radar

1
Chapter 1

Acoustic Emission

1.1. Acoustic emission phenomena

For centuries, woodsmen have listened to the groaning sounds emitted by trees
as they fall and taken it as a warning to stand clear. Alchemists during the Middle
Ages recognized acoustic emissions given by tin, zinc, and iron during metal
working. Acoustic emission (phonon signals) and microseismic activity are natu-
rally occurring phenomena. Almost all materials emit sound or acoustic emission
(AE) when they are sufficiently stressed. Wood and rock produce AE signals in
the audible frequency range when stressed. It was conjectured that there existed
the possibility of AE signal generation in the ultrasonic frequency range during
deformation of materials. In 1950, Joseph Kaiser reported the first comprehensive
investigation into acoustic emission phenomenon in conventional engineering
materials using electronic equipment and a tensile testing machine. Kaiser also
observed that AE activity was irreversible. Acoustic emissions are not generated
during the reloading of a material until the stress level on it exceeds its previous
high value. This AE irreversible phenomenon is now known as the Kaiser effect [1].
He also proposed a distinction between burst and continuous AE activity.
In the middle of the 1950s in the United States, Schofield and Tatro investigated
AE phenomena. They found that the emissions from metals were primarily due to
dislocation motions accompanying plastic deformation, rather than being entirely
due to grain boundary sliding in polycrystalline materials as proposed by Kaiser.
The use of piezoelectric transducers and electronic amplifiers to observe high
frequency AE activity gradually led to the definition of acoustic emission. Acoustic
emission thus refers to the generation of transient elastic stress (strain) waves due
to the rapid release of energy from a localized source within a material undergoing
some kind of deformation. The stresses applied to materials under test could be
tensile, compressive, or shear. AE activity on a large scale appears during plastic
deformation of materials. The transient elastic stress waves of AE have frequen-
cies ranging from 20 kHz to 1 MHz. Experimental research work showed that AE
activity could be generated by many different mechanisms such as mechanical
deformation, fracture, crack propagation, dislocation motion and multiplication,
twin formation, phase transformation, corrosion, friction, and internal magnetic
processes. Mechanical loading is not the only way to generate AE activity. Thermal
shock loading and electrical sparking can also cause AE activity. The generation of
AE activity during chemical reactions has also been observed. It was realized quite
early that AE activity appears in two types, burst and continuous signals.

1.2. AE signal characteristics

If an AE signal, as seen on an oscilloscope, consists of distinct pulses that are

distinguishable from the background noise, the signal can be characterized as a
burst emission. If a signal is not resolvable into individual bursts, then it is called a
continuous emission [2]. Figure 1.1 shows oscilloscope displays of these two types
of AE signals. The burst type of the signal in the amplitude versus time format can
be described by many parameters, such as rise time, rise time slope, peak amplitude,

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Figure 1.1.
(A) Burst acoustic emission (AE) and (B) continuous AE.

Figure 1.2.
Different parameters of acoustic emission signals.

ring-down count, energy envelope, and event (or signal) duration. The typical burst
type waveform and its parameters are shown schematically in Figure 1.2. Continuous
emission is a qualitative term applied to acoustic emission when the burst or pulses
are not discernible. Background noise is the signal in the absence of any acoustic
emission events. It has electrical and mechanical origins.

1.3. Instrumentation to examine AE signals

All AE signals are mechanical signals. It is necessary to convert them into

electrical signals to display, record, or analyze them in real time. This function is
performed by an acoustic emission sensor coupled to a specimen undergoing stress
testing using a suitable couplant made of viscous liquid. A simple system to study
acoustic emissions generated by a specimen subjected to changing stress is shown
schematically in Figure 1.3. The critical component in the instrumentation system
is the sensor chosen to pick up the AE signal.
These sensors are usually piezoelectric transducers that can be either narrow
band or broad band depending upon the investigation to be performed. Capacitive
sensors are used in laboratories for their special characteristics of flat frequency
response. If no contact with the specimen under test is desired, then an electro-
magnetic sensor is the choice. However, its sensitivity is lower than that of a piezo-
electric sensor. AE signals can also be detected by optical methods as described

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 1.3.
Schematic diagram of a simple acoustic emission system.

by Palmer and Green [3]. The sensitivity of a sensor depends upon the frequency,
wave type, and sensor design. It can be specified in terms of an output voltage
produced by a given input quantity. In the case of simple AE signal detection by a
­piezoelectric transducer system, for example, a sensor + any signal conditioning
amplifier + cables + some readout device, the sensitivity is expressed as the ratio of
(electrical output signal)/(mechanical input).
Acoustic emission sensor calibration is necessary in order to obtain a plot of
frequency versus sensitivity. In frequency calibration, the arrangement should
reproduce an AE type situation so that it is valid for all AE measurements performed.
Because AE may be continuous or discrete, some attempts have been made to gener-
ate standard pulses which for discrete ones correspond to the delta function, whereas
in the case of the continuous emission, to the white noise. As a discrete pulse source,
the breaking of glass capillary proposed by Hsu and Breckenridge [4] works well.
For calibration of equipment designed for registering continuous AE, McBride and
Hutchinson [5] suggested a method based on the outflow of gas flux from a nozzle.
A modified version of artificial AE pulse source called a Hsu-Nielsen source appears
to meet the requirements of a repeatable AE source, characterized with simplicity of
construction and ease of application under industrial conditions [6].
Referring to Figure 1.3, a weak signal, generated by the sensor, of approximately
1 μV amplitude, is fed to a preamplifier located close to the sensor in order to mini-
mize attenuation of the signal on the cable before amplification. A band-pass filter
is used to filter out unwanted noise. The electrical AE signal is further ­amplified by
a postamplifier located away (in certain experimental situations) from the sensor
coupled to an object under testing. The output of the postamplifier feeds into aver-
aging circuitry to determine its moving time average RMS value and into a compar-
ator. A threshold voltage is sent into the comparator from an adjustable source. This
threshold voltage can either be fixed or be set to automatically float above the peak
value of the background noise. This threshold voltage is shown in Figure 1.2. Since
the threshold is set to some level above the background noise, the comparator will
put out pulses and register the signal only when the postamplifier output exceeds
the background noise. The output of the comparator is fed into a counter.

1.4. Methods of AE data analysis

1.4.1 Ring-down count and event count

At this stage, the AE electrical signals can be counted, integrated, captured,

or characterized in many different ways. The simple method of ring-down counts

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measures the number of times the amplitude of a damped sinusoidal signal exceeds
a chosen threshold voltage within a single event. The total cumulative counts
and the count rate are also used to characterize AE activity. For the purpose of
comparison of ring-down counts in different AE events, gain values on amplifiers
must be held at constant settings chosen suitably for the experiment. The number
of AE events and the rate of occurrence of these events during a test have been
correlated, as summarized by Bassim and Houssny-Emam [7], to various physical
variables like load, strain, and the number of cycles in fatigue testing and to the
stress intensity factor in fracture mechanics. The counting of acoustic events is
simple and convenient. Although audible signals can be counted by ear, signals
of ultrasonic frequencies are counted by using high-speed comparator integrated
circuits and data loggers. As discussed previously, a threshold reference voltage is
set to some level above the background and fed into the comparator, so that when
an emission occurs that exceeds this level, the signal is registered. Circuits include a
delay timer to ensure that only a single count is registered per incoming oscillation
signal. Counting AE events may be inadequate for some quantitative applications
because AE event counting is influenced by many factors like resonances in the test
structure, sensor resonance and damping, nature of coupling between the sensor
and the test structure, and the rate of loading the structure.

1.4.2 Energy and RMS measurements

AE signals differ in both peak amplitudes and total energies. Hence, there is a
second approach for characterizing AE signals, related to the measurement of their
energy content.
Acoustic emission is attributed to the release of energy from any structure under
stress. So the measured energy content of an AE signal is an indication of this energy
release. Instruments are commercially available that approximate the total energy in
each emission. Another useful approach for fast emitting systems is to integrate the
output, using either a peak level detection device or a true RMS meter. Interference
from intense but very short-lived transients resulting from electrical switching can be
reduced by considering the total energy of acoustic events, rather than their maximum
amplitudes alone. Figure 1.4 shows the steps in energy measurement. The energy
measurement is a procedure for measuring the area under the envelope of the square
of the signal using digital integration. Beattie [8] demonstrated the advantage of using
the energy analysis method over that of ring-down counts, especially in measuring
the high energy events where ring-down counts failed to register the proper relative
magnitudes. Kline [9] has shown, for a test of constant strain rate deformation of lead-
tin alloy, that in the beginning of the test, the count activity was stronger than RMS
response due to burst type AE activity, while in the later part of the test, RMS response
peaked due to continuous emission. However, according to Beattie, the energy and
power measured are those of the electrical signal generated by the transducer and
neither is proportional to the energy of the acoustic wave or the AE source.

1.4.3 Analysis of AE signal amplitudes

Amplitude distribution analysis is another way of characterizing acoustic

emission from a test object. Since intensity is proportional to the square of the
amplitude, the amplitude of an AE signal is indicative of the energy involved in
generating it. In other words, it is indicative of the intensity of the damage in the
material that caused the signal to occur. The amplitudes of detected signals are
dependent on the position of the transducer relative to the emitting source or
sources and the coupling between the transducer and the test object. AE signal

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 1.4.
Steps in energy measurement.

amplitudes are attenuated and greatly modified by wave propagation mechanisms

which are functions of properties of the propagating medium and its geometry. The
peak signal amplitude is the maximum absolute amplitude of an AE burst. It could
be positive or negative. Disparity in magnitudes between positive and negative peak
amplitudes is typical of AE signals [10]. However, in a controlled test settings where
factors such as coupling of transducer, position of transducer, wave propagation
medium, and gains on both amplifiers are maintained constant, amplitudes gener-
ated by two distinct mechanisms triggered from outside in the test object could be
compared to obtain reliable information about them.

1.4.4 Acoustic emission spectral analysis

With advances in computer and related technologies, AE signal spectral analysis

can now be performed by applying fast Fourier transform (FFT) on each time
domain signal. The transformed data are usually viewed as a power spectrum.
Power observed within various frequency ranges can be summed to provide better
quantitative information. Success of the spectral analysis of the AE signal varies
and appears to be limited. This is because the detected AE event is the composite
result of the source event modified by the input/output instrumentation system and
can be described conveniently with different transfer functions such as the speci-
men transfer function, the transducer transfer function, and the signal processing
transfer function [11]. Even when a capacitive transducer or optical probe is used
to faithfully detect the surface displacement waveform characteristic of an acoustic
emission source, the waveform and hence its frequency spectrum appear to undergo
severe modification as it reflects back and forth in an actual specimen [12].

1.5. New techniques to study acoustic emission phenomenon

It has been observed over a number of years that recorded AE signals show
the existence of different waveform categories. Digital signal analysis techniques

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have made the procedure for classifying different waveforms and correlating them
according to underlying microfracture processes less laborious. Ono and Huang
[13] provided the basic concept and applied it to the characterization of composite
microfractures. They used the ICEPAK software package which includes five statis-
tical and neural network classifiers. With its incorporation of artificial intelligence
in the form of neural networks, statistical pattern classifiers, and fuzzy logic, super
ICEPAK is a sophisticated program for multiparameter automatic data interpreta-
tion. Ono [14] emphasized that the effects of wave dispersion and attenuation
need to be considered carefully in employing these procedures when the distances
between AE source and sensor vary widely. Wideband sensors and electronics
are also needed to discriminate different signal features since narrow-band sen-
sors drastically alter waveform and spectral features. The power spectrum allows
descriptors to be extracted from it, such as median frequency and bandwidth.
Betteridge et al. [15] used pattern recognition techniques to show the similarity
between signals from various subsets of 34 different acoustically emissive chemical
reactions. Many pattern recognition techniques that are now commonplace for ana-
lyzing and classifying more conventional acoustic emission data are also applicable
to chemical (and other) sources of AE. Recently, Sachse and his coworkers [16]
applied an adaptive learning system to the characterization of acoustic emission
phenomenon.
A powerful new tool of wavelet transformation is also making inroads into the
analysis of AE signals. Since AE signals are of the burst type, classical analysis of
them by Fourier transformation is not the best approach. Wavelet transform allows
the determination of the frequency spectrum as a function of time and frequency
using short waveform segments or wavelets as the basis functions. With a good
selection of a mother wavelet function, the basis function will be more identical to
the burst form of the signal than the sine base function of Fourier transformation
is the resulting mapping of wavelet coefficients in the frequency-time coordinate
plane provides a more informative characterization of transient signals than
the power density spectra from the usual Fourier transform. Suzuki et al. [17]
performed wavelet transform on AE signals from the longitudinal glass fiber-­
reinforced composite material sample under tensile loading. The spectrograms
obtained were classified into four types and compared to known fracture dynamics
results with excellent correlation.

1.6. Emission source location, orientation, and inverse problem

Determining flaw location in a structure in real time is one of the most impor-
tant applications of AE as a nondestructive testing technique (NDT). Flaw location
is based on the measurement of relative arrival times of an AE signal at several
sensors attached to the structure under load test and is therefore readily applicable
to cases where burst emissions are generated. The linear location mode of inves-
tigation is used for a linear structure, the triangular mode for a shell type surface
structure, and the spatial mode for source location in three dimensions. The actual
location of an AE source in a structure can be verified if a signal from a computer
simulation appears on the display at the same place as a suspected source of acoustic
emission. Calibration signals are used to adjust the gain of all sensors to the same
level, determine the attenuation in the test structure, and provide a relative basis
for comparison on AE signals. Once a source has been located by AE, the next task
would be to determine its size and orientation.
There are different ways to deal with this part of the problem, sometimes called
the inverse problem. Standard nondestructive testing techniques like ultrasonics

7
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

or X-rays could be used to locate body defects and magnetic particle or liquid
penetrant to delineate surface flaws. For some well-defined systems, a deconvolu-
tion technique could be used, but in some cases, the crack orientations can cause
the deconvolution method to produce erroneous results. In recent years, further
progress has been made in determining the orientation of cracks. A new method of
moment tensor scheme uses five transducers mounted in different locations on a
structure to record an AE event. Next a “moment tensor” is derived from the digital
records of this signal. Eigenvector analysis enables the tensor to be separated into a
mean component, a shear component, and a component known as the compensated
linear vector dipole. It is possible to classify an AE source as either a tensile crack or
a shear crack from the ratios of these three components [18].

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References

[1] Liptai RG, Harris DO, Tatro CA. An Journal of Acoustic Emission.
introduction to acoustic emission. In: 1983;2(1/2):95-128
Acoustic Emission, STP 505, ASTM.
West Conshohocken, PA, USA: American [11] Simmons JA,
Socity of Testing Materials. 1971 Clough RB. Theoretical aspects
of acoustic emission spectral
[2] Bray DE, McBride D. Nondestructive measurements. In: Proceedings of
testing techniques. In: Acoustic Emission the Eighth World Conference on
Technology. New York: John Wiley and Nondestructive Testing. Cannes,
Sons. 1992. pp. 345-347. Chapter 12 France; 1976

[3] Palmer CH, Green RE. Materials [12] Green RE Jr. Basic wave analysis
evaluation by optical detection of of acoustic emission. In: Steinchcomb
acoustic emission signals. Materials WW, editor. Mechanics of
Evaluation. 1977;35(10):107-112 Nondestructive Testing. New York, NY:
Plenum Publishing Corporation; 1980.
[4] Hsu NN, Breckenridge FR. pp. 55-76
Characterization and calibration of
acoustic emission sensors. Materials [13] Ono K, Huang Q. In: Kishi T et al.,
Evaluation. 1981;39:60-69 editors. Progress in Acoustic Emission
VII. Tokyo: Japan Society NDI; 1994.
[5] McBride SL, Hutchinson T. Absolute pp. 69-78
calibration of the helium gas jet noise
source. Canadian Journal of Physics. [14] Ono K. Recent development in
1978;504:54 acoustic emission. Journal of Acoustic
Emission. 1997;15(1-4):S95-S102
[6] Jerzy S, Marcin L. Measurement and
analysis of acoustic emission standard [15] Betteridge D, Joslin MT, Lilley T.
pulses generated in Hsu-Nielsen source. Acoustic Emissions from Chemical
Archives of Electrical Engineering. Reactions. Analytical Chemistry.
1998;XLVII(1):13-24 1981;53:1064-1073

[7] Bassim MN, Houssny-Emam M. [16] Grabec I, Sachse W, Govekar E.

Time and frequency analysis of acoustic Solving AE problems by neural
emission signals. In: Matthews JR, networks. In: Sachse W et al., editors.
editor. Acoustic Emission. New York: ASTM STP 107, Acoustic Emission:
Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; Current Practice and Future Directions.
1983. pp. 139-163 West Conshohocken, PA, USA: American
Socity of Testing Materials. 1991.
[8] Beattie AG. Energy analysis in pp. 165-182
acoustic emission. Materials Evaluation.
1976;34:73-78 [17] Suzuki H, Kinjo T, Hayashi
Y, Takemoto M, Ono K. Wavelet
[9] Kline RA. Acoustic emission signal Transform of Acoustic Emission
characterization. In: Matthews JR, Signals. Journal of Acoustic Emission.
editor. Acoustic Emission. New York: 1996;14:69-84
Gordon and Breach Science Publishers;
1983. pp. 105-137 [18] Ohtsu M. Source kinematics
of acoustic emission based on a
[10] Beattie AG. Acoustic emission, moment tensor. NDT International.
principles and instrumentation. 1989;22(1):14-20

9
Chapter 2

Practical Applications of Acoustic

Emission Technology

Applications of acoustic emission (AE) technology are growing rapidly, with AE

instrumentation undergoing improvement through several generations of refine-
ment, and have reached the stage where they are now ready to offer high levels of
performance and user convenience. A short review is given here of some applica-
tions. Interested readers can find vast literature on this subject in the American
Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Handbook on Acoustic Emission
Testing [1].

2.1. Materials science and metallurgy

In experiments on copper single crystals, Pollock [2] observed that at very

low strains, the material supports easy gliding, with dislocations traveling over
long distances. The source events are thus of long duration, and the associated
spectrum of acoustic emissions falls off between 70 and 350 kHz. At higher
strains, the easy movement of dislocations is blocked and the distances traversed
become shorter. These shorter duration events have spectra extending well above
350 kHz.
For a polycrystalline 7075-T6 aluminum unflawed tensile specimen, Dunegan
and Harris [3] reported very nice data of the acoustic emission rate as a func-
tion of strain. The experiment showed that the acoustic emission began to reach
a maximum just before the proportional limit of the stress-strain curve. An
interesting superimposition on the AE data, a fit of Gilman’s mobile dislocation
model, gave mobile dislocation density as a function of plastic strain. Although
the agreement for aluminum specimen was excellent for this superimposition,
experiments on Fe-3%Si specimens showed a different picture of relatively poor
agreement.
Most AE research and development has occurred in metallurgy and materials
science. This is because early AE research showed that emissions are generated
in metals by dislocation motion, grain boundary sliding, crystal twinning, phase
transformations, crack initiation, crack growth from fatigue or corrosion, and
cracking of second-phase particles. Metal fatigue is a gradual deterioration of the
crystal structure by cyclic stresses and is responsible for the abrupt breaking of
metallic machine components subjected to cyclic stresses, without showing external
signs of any permanent deformation to herald the fracture. Much effort has gone
into the theoretical modeling of fatigue phenomena, as well as into the nondestruc-
tive testing of fatigue progress, to obtain a kind of warning mechanism prior to
crack initiation into an unflawed specimen subjected to cyclic stresses. Both scien-
tists and engineers want to use the AE technique to monitor the progress of fatigue
damage. Looking now at another nondestructive testing technique using ultrason-
ics, the ultrasonic attenuation detection of fatigue damage was reported as early as
1972 by Joshi [4]. They successfully showed (Figure 2.1A), through a large number
of tests, that the attenuation of ultrasonic pulses propagating through aluminum

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Figure 2.1.
(A) Typical plot of ultrasonic attenuation versus the number of fatigue cycles for aluminum (after Joshi and
Green [5]). (B) Typical plot of change in ultrasonic attenuation and true root mean square voltage of acoustic
emission versus fatigue life for 7075-T651 aluminum (after Green and Duke [6]).

or steel bars subjected to cyclic loading initially remained constant, then increased
slowly with the number of fatigue cycles, and finally increased catastrophically just
prior to fracture of the test specimen [5].
In these tests, ultrasonic attenuation was a sensitive indicator of fatigue dam-
age and indicated that failure was imminent before the conventional ultrasonic
pulse-echo monitoring could detect an echo due to energy reflected from a crack.
Ultrasonics is an active technique, while acoustic emission is a passive technique.
So, acoustic emission could be used to listen to a kind of crying signal given out by
a tired specimen subjected to cyclic stresses. Figure 2.1B shows the results of AE
testing of an aluminum specimen during a fatigue experiment. The experimental
apparatus (Figure 2.2B) used in joint ultrasonic and acoustic emission detection
of fatigue damage by Green and Duke [6] was similar to the one used by Joshi
and Green (Figure 2.2), only for ultrasonic detection of fatigue damage. The two
techniques could serve to be complementary to each other.
Harris et al. [7] discussed a new method in order to test the integrity of a
structure subjected to fatigue loading. They used acoustic emission in conjunc-
tion with periodic proof stressing which provided a means of detecting the

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 2.2.
(A) Schematic of experimental arrangement for ultrasonic attenuation detection of fatigue damage.
(B) schematic for ultrasonic and acoustic emission detection of fatigue damage.

presence and growth of fatigue cracks. This technique provides ample and
early warning of impending failure and would therefore be of value in practical
applications.

2.2. Composite materials

Composite materials can be arranged into three groups: dispersion strength-

ened, particle reinforced, and fiber reinforced. Composite materials are often both
inhomogeneous and nonisotropic (orthotropic or anisotropic). Fiber-reinforced

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plastic (FRP) composites have desirable engineering properties such as low weight,
high stiffness, and damage tolerance. Because of these properties, they have become
attractive in aerospace and other modern structural applications. These applica-
tions have created a need to monitor their in-service performance nondestructively.
Flaws and cracks in FRP, no matter how small, generate elastic waves as they extend
suddenly under service loadings of intermittent or cyclic nature. These emitted
elastic stress waves can be monitored to discover sudden damage or accumulated
damage over the time period. Hence, AE technology is an ideal nondestructive
testing technique for this purpose. AE technology, in the case of composite materi-
als, has been applied to characterize fracture of fiber, matrix cracking, fiber-matrix
debonding, matrix crazing, and gross delaminations. The methods used to process
and to quantify the obtained AE data are primarily amplitude distribution, ring-
down counting, and spectral analysis. However, the results obtained by all of the
above methods have limited capabilities to characterize the source mechanisms
involved by identifying the exact AE signatures associated with each of them. This
is because the results obtained are not only dependent on the AE source mecha-
nisms but also upon the elastic wave propagation characteristics of an anisotropic
medium such as FRP, the dispersion and attenuation of AE stress wave in a medium,
the distance between an AE source (either on the surface or in the bulk) and a
transducer, and geometric effects including the resonances and antiresonances in
the specimens under the study.
Kline [8] performed a study on the influence of attenuation on acoustic emission
measurements during simulated AE events on metallic and polymeric media. The
amplitude and rise time reductions were both greater for polymeric media (poly-
methyl methacrylate) than for aluminum. The basic features of AE waveforms are
obscured with increasing sample thickness, principally due to preferential attenu-
ation of the higher frequency components in the waveforms. Hamstad [9] pointed
out that the performance of a fiber composite article is often dependent upon the
local conditions throughout the composite. These local conditions include matrix
crack density, fiber damage or fraying, matrix content, matrix cure, moisture con-
tent, residual stress field, and matrix to fiber bonding. In short, it would be of great

Figure 2.3.
Schematic drawing of the test apparatus.

13
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

help if the attenuation characteristics of composite plates were understood before

their installation in-service components.
Such a study was performed by Joshi [10] on three carbon fiber-reinforced
epoxy composites (CFRP). Figure 2.3 shows the schematic drawing of the test
apparatus. Plates of CFRP with different ply orientations were chosen for these
attenuation studies. The first set was a unidirectional composite with a ply layup
configuration of [022]T. The second set of plates chosen had a ply layup configura-
tion of [(0/90)10/0/(90/0)10]T. The third set was a hybrid composite with a ply layup
configuration of [0/(03/±45)8/03/(+45/03)8/0]T. All of the plates were point loaded
in steps until they cracked. The cumulative AE count above a constant threshold
and at a constant gain was recorded for different orientations of a straight line from
the AE transducer to the epicenter of the loading site with respect to the fiber posi-
tions in the plates.
Figure 2.4A shows the cumulative AE count versus loading steps for the case
where the straight line joining the epicenter to the center of the transducer ran
parallel to the fiber direction, and in Figure 2.4B, where it ran perpendicular to the
fiber direction. The cumulative AE count measured in the perpendicular direction
increased rapidly with fewer loading steps than those required to get the same count
when measured in the parallel direction. In the second set of plates of the bidirec-
tional composite, the number of loading steps to reach the same number of cumula-
tive AE was close in number but still different when measured in two perpendicular
directions (Figure 2.4C and D). In short, the attenuations of AE signals in the
unidirectional composite are anisotropic and in the bidirectional relatively less
anisotropic.
As shown in Figure 2.4E, for the third hybrid composite plate with complex
ply layup configuration, the cumulative AE count before cracking of the plate was
approximately the same for the same number of loading steps in all orientations.
Thus, the cumulative AE count was an excellent indicator of localized damage,
irrespective of the orientation of the straight line joining the epicenter of the dam-
age source to the center of the transducer for fibers in both surface plies. The hybrid
complex composite plate appeared more or less isotropic for the wave attenuation.
Proof testing with acoustic emission is very successful and is used to monitor
tanks, pipes, and man-lift booms made of composite materials, using the standard
procedures set forth by the Society of Plastic Industry and the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers. Acceptance criteria are based primarily on the emission rate
at constant proof loads. In FRP components, acoustic emission is often observed at
loads lower than the previous maximum contrary to the Kaiser effect. This phe-
nomenon is called the felicity effect. The Kaiser effect fails in viscoelastic situations
such as the relaxation of the matrix in highly stressed composites. A flow of matrix
at loads below the previous maximum can transfer stress to the fibers, causing
them to break and emit AE. A felicity ratio of greater than 0.95 is recommended for
applying AE to the inspection of FRP tanks and vessels. The Kaiser effect may be
regarded in light of the felicity effect as a felicity ratio of 1.

2.3. Miscellaneous applications

The number of AE applications is increasing every day. AE techniques are used

in monitoring weld quality, leak detection, stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen
embrittlement, machinery conditions, and electric power plant structures. Acoustic
emission techniques are also widely used in geotechnical applications, the electron-
ics industry, the aerospace industry, biomedical engineering research, and even
untended manufacturing. Chemical origins of AE are also being investigated. The

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Practical Applications of Acoustic Emission Technology
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Figure 2.4.
(A) Unidirectional composite figure. (B) Unidirectional composite cumulative AE counts versus loading.
Cumulative AE counts versus loading. AE signal detection parallel to fibers. AE signal detection perpendicular
to fibers. (C) Bidirectional composite cumulative AE counts versus loading detection parallel to first fiberset.
(D) Bidirectional composite cumulative AE counts versus loading AE detection parallel to second fiberset. (E)
Hybrid composite cumulative AE counts versus loading AE count the same in all directions.

15
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

hydration of silica gel is a process in which a violent audible emission from gel gran-
ule fracture is accompanied by considerable emissions at ultrasonic frequencies.
Many species of green plants emit acoustic signals during periods of water shortage.
Emission frequencies extended to at least 300 kHz. The rate of drying of woody tis-
sues can be monitored via the AE signals caused by fiber failures. A new application
of AE was also recently discovered for in-situ performance monitoring of high-
powered microwave tubes. The details of this novel research form the main topic of
this book. The topic of application of AE to electrical and magnetic phenomena will
be reviewed first because it indirectly led to the solution of certain problems related
to high-powered microwave tubes.

2.4. Applications of acoustic emission to electromagnetics

Barkhausen, in 1917, discovered that voltages induced in an electrical coil

encircling a ferromagnetic specimen subjected to a changing magnetic field pro-
duced a noise that could be heard through a speaker after proper amplification.
This noise occurred even though the magnetization applied to the specimen was
changed smoothly. From such experiments, he inferred that the magnetization
in the specimen increases not in a strictly continuous way but by small abrupt
discontinuous increments called Barkhausen jumps. During the magnetization
process, these jumps are the means by which favorably oriented domains grow at
the expense of less favorably oriented domains. In general, the magnetic behavior of
a ferromagnetic material is determined by its microstructure and state of mechani-
cal stress. Domain wall motion is influenced by the presence of inclusions, grain
boundaries, and microstructure of the material. Hence, the Barkhausen effect can
be expected to depend on many parameters, including stress and strain. Its pos-
sible use as a nondestructive testing technique related especially to residual stress
measurement was pointed out by Scott [11]. Lord Jr., in 1974, detected AE pulses
from domain wall jumps in nickel wire at frequencies around 100–200 kHz. The
maximum Barkhausen noise in nickel occurs at the steepest portion of the hysteresis
loop. The acoustic emissions also occur at the steepest part of the loop. The AE data
were generally consistent with the Barkhausen effect. Larger Barkhausen effects are
seen in cold-worked specimens and are accompanied by larger AE activity relative
to annealed material. AE activity in annealed samples diminished considerably [12].
Beattie et al. [13] reported a spontaneous generation of acoustic signals dur-
ing the switching of amorphous semiconductors. They suggested that AE activity
could be used as a new tool for studying the switching process. Their experiments
on bulk samples of chalcogenide glasses show two results. The first result is that in
fast switching, and AE activity is associated with initiation of the switching pro-
cess. The second result is that cracking in the glasses produces an easily detectable
acoustic signal.
An electric arc within a superconducting winding may be induced by the break-
ing down of electrical insulation and by small metallic chip shorting conductors.
The arc can cause serious damage to the magnet. Tsukamoto and Iwasa [14] used
AE techniques to identify quench-causing sources and to detect the presence of a
normalcy in superconducting magnets. Other applications listed by them included
electric arc detection in pulsed superconducting magnets. They used differential
sensors to discriminate acoustic signals from electromagnetic signals. A single-
ended sensor responds to both acoustic and electromagnetic signals, while the
reverse polarities of the two halves of a differential piezoelectric wafer subtract
voltages of electrical noise and record AE activity only. Details of the differential
sensor can be obtained from the ASNT Acoustic Emission Handbook.

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Shen et al. [15] also used AE techniques to locate high-voltage breakdowns in

large superconducting magnet systems. To ensure the safe discharge of supercon-
ducting magnet systems in case a quench or system malfunction occurs, the coils are
designed and built to withstand high-discharge voltages. DC and transmission line
techniques were unsuitable for finding the location of the dielectric breakdowns.
They designed and developed an AE measurement system that would determine the
locations of breakdowns in large coils using the triangulation method with AE sen-
sors. The system measures the difference in time-of-arrival of transient waveforms
caused by DC voltage discharges with an accuracy better than 5 cm. They used both
AE measurements and the high-voltage testing system concurrently.
Acoustic signals in superconducting magnets are emitted principally by
mechanical events such as conductor strain, conductor motion, frictional motion,
and epoxy cracking. Because each event generates an acoustic emission signal,
monitoring of both signal and magnet voltage makes it possible to identify and
localize the source of an event responsible for a premature quench. Quench events
in epoxy-impregnated superconducting magnets may be divided into three classes.
Class 1: a quench preceded by a voltage spike and AE signal resulting from con-
ductor motion. Class 2: a quench with AE signal but no voltage spike triggered by
nonconductor-motion event such as epoxy cracking. Class 3: a quench with neither
a voltage spike nor an AE signal resulting from pure Joule heating as the conductor
reaches a critical current and enters into a current sharing regime.
Ige et al. [16] developed an acoustic emission system for monitoring high-­
performance superconducting dipoles and quadrupoles used in high-energy
­accelerators. They used four AE sensors, each one located at the top, middle, and bot-
tom of the magnet, and the fourth, a guard sensor to detect extraneous noise, located
on one of the current leads. In each run, the magnet was ramped up at a constant
rate, typically 100 A per second, until it quenched at about 6000 A. They collected
records on cumulative AE events and energy as well as current history. The data were
then plotted separately for three AE sensors. They noticed that there was a sharp
peak in the AE energy rate from the middle AE sensor. It thus suggested that this was
the source of quench. It was independently verified later on using voltage data.
Similar results were obtained by Yoshida et al. [17] on large-scale coils of super-
conducting magnet systems. Uses of strain and displacement gages cannot cover the
whole system in monitoring premonitory phenomena of a magnet system’s failure,
because these gages are mounted on points and therefore localized. On the other
hand, acoustic emissions can be transmitted to sensors through structural materials
without electrical noise. They used several sensors on large coil task (LCT) coil and
the test module coil (TMC). They found correlation between voltage spikes and
acoustic emission events excellent during single coil charging mode but poor during
out of plane force mode. There were no indicative acoustical phenomena before a
magnet quench or during normal zone generation.
Boczar [18] performed a frequency analysis of acoustic emission pulses gener-
ated during partial discharges in power devices. He discussed the disturbances,
internal and external, that can accompany the measurement, using the AE method
of partial discharges in industrial conditions. Interfering disturbances coming from
the computer fan, the fluorescent lamp glow starter, the contact, the autotrans-
former, the electrical forcer, and the commutator engine, along with shifting the
transducer along the surface of the object under study, were identified with their
respective spectra. Methods were then suggested to eliminate their effects on the
AE signal spectrum arising from partial discharges. He also performed a frequency
analysis of AE signals for sliding and corona discharges to distinguish them from
those of partial discharges. This analysis was needed because the AE signal frequen-
cies of corona discharges (20–60 and 200–230 kHz) that occur on the equipment

17
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

and phase conductors of overhead power lines often overlap the frequency spec-
trum of AE pulses generated by partial discharges. A high-pass filter with a bottom
frequency of 60 kHz can eliminate the lower frequencies, and the higher frequency
range may have some overlapping. Note, however, that the values for the amplitude
and energy of AE pulses generated by sliding and corona discharges were over six
times smaller than the corresponding values for AE pulses generated by the partial
discharges that can occur in oil insulation setups [19].
In their study of AE signals generated during the uniaxial constant value com-
pression of pristine cylindrical samples taken from the Kainda granite deposit (in
Kyrgyzstan), Manzhikov et al. [20] discovered electromagnetic emissions (EME),
which they attributed to charge redistribution caused by dislocation movements
typical of most of the minerals (consisting of dielectrics with ionic bonds) forming
the terrestrial crust.
Sakoda et al.[21] mounted AE sensors on the grounded outside surface of the
tank of an oil-immersed pole transformer in order to study elastic waves generated
by a simulated partial discharge or a corona discharge in their laboratory experi-
ment. In the first step, there were no windings or magnetic core in the oil-filled
tank. They then repeated the experiment with the windings and core included in the
tank to figure out the modification of the elastic Lamb waves in the thin tank wall
due to the presence of the core and windings. The results showed that the windings
influenced the characteristics of the frequency spectra of the elastic waves, and that
most of the detected AE signals were for the Lamb waves having frequency com-
ponents greater than 50 kHz. It was observed experimentally that these frequency
components were mainly caused by the elastic waves passing through the surface
of insulating paper on winding layers and oil with repeating transmission, refrac-
tion, and reflection. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE has
produced an IEEE-Trial-Use Guide (IEEE Std C57.127-2000) for the detection of
Acoustic Emissions from Partial Discharges in Oil-immersed Power Transformers
(IEEE Std C57.127-2000).

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References

[1] Miller RK, McIntire P, editors. Boston, MA: Office of Naval Research,
Nondestructive testing handbook. Eastern/Central Regional Office; 1981
In: Acoustic Emission Testing. Vol. 5.
Ohio, USA: American Society for [10] Joshi NR. Acoustic emission
Nondestructive Testing; 1987 studies of fiber reinforced composites.
In: Proceedings of 15th Symposium
[2] Pollock AA. Acoustic emission. In: on Nondestructive Evaluation. San
Stephens RWB, Leventhall HG, editors. Antonio, Texas: SWRI; 1985. pp. 320-330
Acoustics and Vibration Progress. Vol. I.
London, UK: Chapman and Hall; 1974. [11] Scott IG. Basic Acoustic Emission.
pp. 51-83 New York, NY: Gordon and Breach
Science Publishers; 1991
[3] Dunegan H, Harris D. Acoustic
emission-a new nondestructive testing [12] Lord AE. Acoustic emission. In:
tool. Ultrasonics. 1969;7(3):160-166 Mason WP, Thurston RN, editors.
Physical Acoustics. Vol. XI. Cambridge,
[4] Joshi NR. Ultrasonic detection MA: Elsevier. 1975. pp. 289-353
of fatigue damage [Ph.D. thesis].
[13] Beattie AG, Johnson RT Jr, Quinn RK.
Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins
University; 1973 Spontaneous Generation of Acoustic
Signals during Switching of Amorphous
[5] Joshi NR, Green RE Jr. Ultrasonic Semiconductors. Albuquerque, NM:
detection of fatigue damage. Engineering Sandia Laboratories; 1974
Fracture Mechanics. 1972;4:577-583
[14] Tsukamoto O, Iwasa Y. Acoustic
emission diagnostic & monitoring
[6] Green RE Jr, Duke JC Jr. Ultrasonic and
techniques for superconducting
acoustic emission detection of fatigue
magnets. Advances in Cryogenic
damage. In: International Advances in
Engineering. 1986;31:259-268
Nondestructive Testing. Vol. VI.
New York, NY: Gordon and Breach [15] Shen SS, Wilson CT, Luton JN.
Science Publishers; 1979 Acoustic emission measurements for
locating high-voltage break downs in
[7] Harris DO, Dunegan HL, Tetelman
large superconducting magnet systems.
AS. Prediction of fatigue lifetime by
Advances in Cryogenic Engineering.
combined fracture mechanics and
1986;31:285-292
acoustic emission techniques. In:
Proceedings of the Air Force Conference [16] Ige OO, Iwasa Y, Fujita H. Acoustic
on Fatigue and Fracture of Aircraft emission instrumentation for a
Structures and Materials AFFDL, TR superconducting dipole. Advances
70-144; 1969 in Cryogenic Engineering. New York:
Gordon & Breach Publishers, Inc.;
[8] Kline RA. The influence of 1979;31:303-308
attenuation on acoustic emission
measurements. IEEE Ultrasonic [17] Yoshida K, Nishi MF, Tsuji H,
Symposium Proceedings. 1984;2:930-932 Hattori Y, Shimamoto S, Tsukamoto O.
Acoustic emission measurement on
[9] Hamstad MA. Local characterization large scale coils at JAERI. Advances in
of Fiber composites by acoustic Cryogenic Engineering. 1986;31:277-284
emission. In: Critical Review:
Techniques for the Characterization of [18] Boczar T. Identification of
Composite Materials, Cambridge, MA. fundamental forms of partial

19
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

discharges based on the results of

frequency analysis of their acoustic
emission. Journal of Acoustic Emission.
1999;17(3-4):S7-S12

[19] Boczar T. Results of Frequency

Analysis of AE Pulses Generated by
Corona Discharges. Poland: Technical
University of Opole; 2004. www.pu.if.
ua/inst.phys_che/start/pcss/vol5/0504-
28.pdf

[20] Manzhikov BT, Bogomolov LM,

Sychev VN. Structure of Pulses of
Acoustic Emission and Electromagnetic
Emission from Rocks during Uniaxial
Compression. http://tiger.gdirc.
ru/1201/1201_en/emi.html

[21] Sakoda T, Nieda H, Ando K.

Characteristics of elastic waves
caused by Corona discharges in an
oil-immersed pole transformers.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and
Electrical Insulation. 2001;8(2):276-283

20
Chapter 3

Nondestructive Evaluation of
Microwave Tubes

3.1. What are microwaves?

Microwaves are electromagnetic waves that have many similarities to visible light
and obey the same laws of optics. They can travel in straight lines over great distances,
reflect from objects in their path, and allow measurements of the reflected or transmit-
ted waves to define position, speed, diffraction, refraction, energy absorbed, and other
characteristics. Microwaves can be focused by lenses or by curved mirrors, and they
travel in rays like light. They reflect, refract, diffract, and experience interference and
scattering. However, they differ from light in frequencies and wavelengths. Figure 3.1
shows the relative position of microwaves between radio waves and infrared radiation
in the electromagnetic spectrum. The figure also shows the values of frequencies and
wavelengths of different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as related through
the equation v = fλ, where v = velocity of waves, f = frequency, and λ = wavelength. A
typical microwave wavelength would be 25 mm (1 inch), while that of television would
be 0.4–5.5 m (1.3–18 ft) and that of AM radio around 300 m (1000 ft). Sometimes
the term microwave is used rather ambiguously. However, signals at frequencies from
1 GHz (109 cycles/s) to at least 100 GHz are considered to be microwaves. Microwaves
propagate through free space as linearly or circularly polarized, sinusoidally varying,
plane electromagnetic waves at the speed of light, equal to 2.988 × 108 m/s.
Microwaves are used widely in modern technology. One major field is television.
The microwave frequency range is used for transcontinental transmission using
complex transmitter, relay, and receiver networks throughout the country. Local
stations convert the signals to lower frequencies for transmission to individual sets.
On a local level, microwaves are used to send signals from studios to transmitter
locations. Microwaves are used in national and local security applications, such
as early warning radar, missile guidance systems, and Doppler radars, to detect
and control the speed of vehicles. Microwave communication networks and relay
stations are used commercially for routine multichannel communication transmis-
sions, both long distance and local. With microwave technology, air and sea naviga-
tion is much more reliable now than in the past. On the consumer level, microwave
ovens have become very widespread. One can add to this list the industrial applica-
tions of microwaves, such as microwave heating, drying, curing, etc. Chemical and
biomedical applications are also steadily increasing.

3.2. Types of microwave devices

Microwave tubes are widely used in radar transmitter applications. Microwave

radar transmitter tubes are of two types, oscillators and amplifiers. Self-excited
oscillators, as typified by magnetrons, and various semiconductor bulk-effect
devices, such as Gunn effect devices, impact avalanche and transit-time devices
(IMPATTs), and limited space charge accumulation (LSA) devices, are suitable for
many radar applications. Amplifiers, which include cross-field amplifiers (CFAs),

21
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 3.1.
Position of microwaves in electromagnetic spectrum.

klystrons, traveling-wave tubes (TWTs), and transistor amplifiers, are useful where
the amplification of low-power signals is required, as in a coherent MTI system, a
pulse compression radar, or a pulse-Doppler system. Many radar systems operate
in a pulsed mode and require transmitter devices capable of considerable peak and
average power. While there are exceptions, applications requiring high output pow-
ers usually use thermionic vacuum tubes for the transmitting devices.
High-power microwave (HPM) tubes may be divided into two categories:
crossed-field devices, characterized by orthogonal electric field and magnetic fields
[1, 2], and linear-beam devices, which have a continuous electron beam traversing
an interaction region [3]. Crossed-field devices are typified by magnetrons and
CFAs, while linear-beam devices include cavity klystrons, traveling-wave tubes,
twystrons, and extended-interaction oscillators. Each of these devices has its own
peculiarities concerning arcing, voltage-current relationship at the terminals, RF
performance, and the effects of terminal voltages on tenability and device stability.
Out of all these devices, three types of transmitting devices have been dominant
in radar for many years. They are magnetrons, klystrons, and traveling-wave tubes.
They all are based on vacuum-tube technology. Magnetrons are rugged and suitable
for mobile equipment. Klystron amplifiers offer the system designers a higher peak
power capacity than magnetrons. Since they are amplifiers rather than oscillators,
they can provide highly stable output pulses, controlled in phase and frequency.
On the other hand, klystrons are comparatively bulky, expensive, and prone to
mechanical damage. Traveling-wave tubes, which are close relatives to klystrons, are
also amplifiers. They have relatively large bandwidths. HPM tube systems are used
in Navy radars and communication systems. These tubes are primary cost drivers,
as can be seen from expenditures of millions of dollars on replacing malfunctioning
tubes in the fleet. Sometimes it is difficult to make decisions about replacement of
the expensive tubes in the absence of tools to examine their conditions.

3.3. Need for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of microwave tubes

As mentioned before, microwave tubes are primary cost drivers for many high-
power radars and communication systems. It is not unusual for high-performance
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microwave tubes to cost in the range of 20,000–30,000 dollars. Millimeter wave

tubes can cost much more. Since a tube’s operating life may only be a few thousand
hours, an increase in tube life can significantly reduce annual system operating
costs. Incompatibility between a tube and its system can also seriously impact tube
life. Although efforts have been made to achieve compatibility between tubes and
their systems, this has rarely provided the protection required to achieve long tube
life. When a costly tube fails, it is generally impossible to determine the sequence
of events that contributed to its failure. This makes it difficult to correct the tube’s
design or to improve system interfacing. Written reports, returned with failed
tubes, seldom provide the kind of information needed to clearly establish the cause
of failure. This state of affairs clearly indicates that techniques for in situ perfor-
mance monitoring of HPM radar tubes are much needed.

3.4. Requirements of nondestructive evaluation of microwave tubes

The objectives of the NDE project were to accomplish the following:

1. Determine the measurable characteristics that correlate with tube status and
reliability.

2. Develop sensors for monitoring these characteristics.

3. Integrate these sensors with telemetry to obtain a nonintrusive package.

4. Develop automated data collection and analysis tools.

5. The requirements guidance are as follows:

a. Insert the technology into in-service systems. The NDE package should
provide upgrades of in-service systems with new, non-intrusive monitoring
technology.

b. Insert technologies that reduce the cost of ownership of systems. The NDE
package should provide advice on judicious and timely replacement of high-
value microwave power tubes, that is, condition-based maintenance.

The microwave power vacuum tube types selected for the project were:
1. Linear beam family

a. Multicavity reflex klystron

b. Traveling-wave tube helical coupled cavity

2. Crossed-field family

a. Magnetron

b. Crossed-field amplifier

The common characteristics of these tubes were identified as:

1. High internal vacuum (10–7–10–8 Torr)

2. High electrode voltages (>10 kV)

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

3. High heat dissipation (100 W–10 kW)

4. Heated cathode

5. Expensive

Performance monitoring for a HPM tube in a radar system could be a compli-

cated procedure as can be seen from the following partial list of currently moni-
tored functions on a radar system having a klystron microwave tube.

1. Filament voltage

2. Filament current

3. Focus coil current

4. Focus coil voltage

5. Vacuum-ion voltage

6. Vacuum-ion current

7. Waveguide pressure

8. Waveguide VSWR/arc detection

9. Klystron temperature

10. Klystron airflow

11. Klystron oil level

12. Klystron oil flow

13. Klystron oil temperature

14. Klystron cathode current

15. Transmitter overvoltage

16. Transmitter overcurrent

17. Cabinet temperature

18. Cabinet airflow

19. Low transmitter output power

20. Modulator inverse current

21. Low voltage power supply (LVPS) voltages

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22. Body current

23. Collector current

3.5. Currently used nondestructive evaluation methods

3.5.1 Thermal inspection

Generally, thermal inspection measurements fall into two categories. First

is thermometry, which is related to measurement of temperature, and second
is themography, which maps contours of equal temperature (isotherms) over a
surface. Sensing devices operate in two modes, contact mode and noncontact
mode. Contact sensors such as thermocouples, bolometers, thermistors, paints,
and inks are either applied to or touch the surface of the test object. Noncontact
methods rely on remote sensing of infrared radiation. Pulses of heat energy, from
a source, are directed at the component under test. It is usual, but not essential, to
direct the incident energy onto one surface of a component and observe the effects
at the opposite surface after conduction through materials. Flaws and irregulari-
ties in structures will affect the amount of conduction in their vicinity. In some
cases, the test object is heated by its internal operation and the heat radiated from
its surface can be detected with an infrared camera and used to map the uneven
surface temperature contours or points of excessive high temperatures. In another
version of thermal pulse video thermography, a high-intensity heat source is used
to send pulses of infrared energy into the material. The surface is then scanned
by an infrared thermal imager with a video output. Digital image processing that
provides image enhancement is also possible.
In the current work, an Inframetrics IRTV-45L (FLIR WIR 8- to 12-μm) camera
was used to examine hot spots on a traveling-wave tube (HP 495A microwave
amplifier operating at 8.5 GHz). Figure 3.2A shows the setup and thermal images.

Figure 3.2.
(A) Infrared camera to detect hot spots on TWTA tube. (B) Frequency versus temperature for CMOS ring
oscillator. (C) Thermal mapping with CMOS ring oscillators on TWT.

25
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Next, a CMOS ring oscillator was used as the temperature sensor [4]. The oscilla-
tor is free running, compact, and inexpensive and offers a digital output. Figure 3.2B
shows a schematic of the sensor and its output frequency versus temperature.
Figure 3.2C shows a schematic diagram of thermal mapping of a traveling-wave
tube. The TWT undergoes an aging process during its service use. Aging of its
internal components such as the cathode leads to changes in the heat dissipation
pattern. It has been proposed that a tube’s thermal signature could be correlated
with its failure mechanisms.

3.5.2 PIN diode sensors

Collector depression is the process of applying a negative potential (on the

tube body or “ground”) to the collector of a TWT or klystron to reduce the elec-
tron beam velocity as the electrons enter the collector. This reduces the kinetic
energy of the electron beam, causing less energy to be converted into X-rays and
heat when the beam impinges on the internal surfaces of the collector. The rate of
emission of these X-rays could be used to estimate the tube aging, as the amount
and distribution of these X-rays changes with tube aging. PIN diode sensors are
used here because they can measure X-ray radiation levels and can localize their
sources [5]. They could serve the double purpose of indicators of tube aging as
well as monitoring X-ray emissions to secure personnel safety. Figure 3.3 shows a
schematic of an X-ray detection system with PIN diode sensors on a TWT.

3.5.3 Optical methods

For voltage hold-off in vacuum devices such as X-ray tubes, klystrons, or mag-
netrons, it is important to realize that each device presents its own problems and
that no all-embracing rules can be established. The specifics of vacuum arcs depend
upon the region near the cathode, where the cathode spot plasma processes of heat
and mass transfer are intensive and the charge carriers are generated. A nonin-
trusive method could be used to monitor materials evaporated from the cathode,
which get deposited on the interior walls of the vacuum tubes. Changes over time in
the thickness of the deposited layer could be used to predict the remaining cathode
life. It has been suggested that optical methods, comparing reflections of light from

Figure 3.3.
PIN diode detection of X-rays from aging anode of TWT.

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Nondestructive Evaluation of Microwave Tubes
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81649

Figure 3.4.
Ellipsometric measurement of deposited vapors from aging cathode.

clean interior walls to those with deposited layers, could be used to estimate the
remaining cathode life. One drawback of this NDE method is that it cannot be used
for tubes that do not have transparent windows to shoot the light beam. Figure 3.4
shows a schematic of the optical method.

3.5.4 Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor

One way to study the performance of HPM tube is to monitor cathode cur-
rent pulses, distinguishing bad current pulses from normal ones. This could be
achieved with a current sensor [6]. Figure 3.5A shows the operation of a GMR
sensor. Figure 3.5B illustrates the advantages of a GMR sensor over a conventional
current sensor. The conventional current sensor is a transformer whose secondary
winding puts out 1 V per ampere of cathode current during pulsing of the tube.
The advantages of GMR sensors are their compactness, low relative cost, and
noncontact operation.

3.5.5 Standard electrical sensor method

Electrical sensors monitoring cathode current, cathode voltage, RF pulse and RF

power, and outputs of microwave tubes can be connected to different channels of an
advanced digital oscilloscope to view and store in its memory. In this way, one can com-
pare the shapes and characteristics of anomalous pulses with those of a standard one.

Figure 3.5.
(A) Schematic of operation of GMR sensor. (B) Nonintrusive current measurement using GMR sensor.

27
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

3.6. Concept of microprocessor-based monitoring system

As mentioned before, written reports, returned with failed HPM radar tubes,
seldom provide the kind of the information needed to clearly establish the cause
of their failure. So Watson and Troy [7] envisioned a microprocessor-based per-
formance monitoring system that could provide capabilities for monitoring tube
performance, providing tube protection, and recording a comprehensive tube
failure history. The performance monitoring concept, as depicted schematically
in Figure 3.6A, shows a typical situation applied to a high-value, crossed-field
amplifier. Figure 3.6B shows a conceptual block diagram of such a monitor, which
utilizes a microprocessor to control a series of data acquisition components. In this
configuration, the microprocessor analyzes the measured data to sense faults. It
then alerts the system and stores the analyzed data. The long-term goal for their
program was to develop a tube performance monitoring system with the following
characteristics:

1. Wide applicability

2. Software controlled

3. Self-calibrating

4. Detailed resolution (50 ns)

5. Multiple sensors

6. Automatic fault sensing

A brief narration on each of the desired characteristics of their performance

monitoring system is given in Figure 3.6.

3.6.1 Wide applicability/software controlled

The wide applicability requirement almost automatically dictates the use of

software control. The wide applicability capability is very important because it
allows the performance monitor to be used with a variety of different tube systems.

Figure 3.6.
(A) Performance monitoring concept for microwave device. (B) Conceptual block diagram of performance
monitor.

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Software control ensures a high degree of flexibility because it allows algorithms to

be tailored to components, systems, and operational circumstances. In addition, it
provides growth potential, since improved algorithms can be implemented as tube
protection knowledge increases.

3.6.2 Self-calibrating

The self-calibrating philosophy is based on the assumption that there will exist a
reasonable time period during which the tube operates normally and that the perfor-
mance during this time can be used as a measure of “normal performance.” The pro-
cess of self-calibration can be implemented by computing an initial mean and variance
for each data set to be evaluated. The data set for each time period is called a resolution
bin. Each sample can then be compared to its stored mean value. The use of variance,
or other equivalent variability measurements, allows the setting of a detection thresh-
old to detect faults with very low false alarm rates. The mean and variance values can
be continually updated during monitor operation to allow for normal system variabil-
ity. In addition, multisample and multipulse fault criteria can reduce the false alarm
rates to very low levels. Self-calibration thus eliminates the difficult task of establishing
and maintaining an absolute calibration of system and monitoring equipment.

3.6.3 Detailed resolution

Detailed resolution is required to provide usage of all of the available sensor

information that bears on a tube’s performance. In practice, HPM radar vacuum
tubes under stress often exhibit a slight distortion of the tops of the cathode current
pulses, along with leading edge jitter, and experience changes in modulator voltage
and load current. Most of these small effects cannot be detected using a low-resolu-
tion monitoring system. As a general rule, it is desirable to have a sufficient number
of samples to allow reconstruction of the actual pulse shape with reasonably good
fidelity, characteristic of a pulse being viewed on a high-end digital oscilloscope.
Clearly, a typical radar current pulse cannot be adequately reproduced using five
or six time samples. It requires at least 15–20 samples to adequately reproduce the
structure of the pulse. Thus, a high-speed data sampling rate of 20 million samples
per second should be chosen for the performance monitoring system since the
length of a typical pulse is about 1 μs. For longer pulses, fine structure usually
becomes less important. While a high analog-to-digital conversion rate clearly
increases resolution, it could introduce buffering and throughput problems.

3.6.4 Multiple sensors

Multiple sensors provide the opportunity to implement algorithms that sample

several signals simultaneously. This allows an in-depth multisensor analysis of
abnormal events.
Furthermore, it allows the monitoring system to ignore extraneous events that
may affect a single sensor but do not actually affect tube operation. Substantially
increased information concerning a fault, and its causes, can be derived from
concurrent multisensor analysis.

3.6.5 Automatic fault sensing

Automatic fault sensing capability is an essential feature of a stand-alone

performance monitor. The detection of a fault is the first step in alerting the system
and in preparing it to store data on the fault for later analysis. Automatic fault

29
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

sensing provides a very efficient means for selecting meaningful experimental data
for analysis. For laboratory experiments, automatic fault sensing is very preferable
over manually stopping the measurement system for the recording and analysis of
data, on the basis of indications viewed on an oscilloscope. Furthermore, the use
of automatic fault sensing in the breadboard system would provide an opportunity
to try out various fault sensing concepts and to evaluate their effectiveness in an
operating environment.

3.7. Final comments

This completes the summary of the basic concepts of a microprocessor-based,

automated, nondestructive evaluation system for high-power microwave tubes.
The next chapter describes the implementation of a breadboard prototype of such a
system.

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References

[1] Lau YY. Theory of cross field devices

and a comparative study of other
radiation sources. NRL Memorandum
Report, 6029. 21 July 1987. http://www.
dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a183389.pdf

[2] Chodorow M, Susskind C.

Fundamentals of Microwave
Electronics. New York, NY: McGraw Hill
Book Co.; 1964. pp. 241-244

[3] Liao SY. Microwave Devices and

Circuits. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall, Inc.; 1980. pp. 177-255

[4] Suman S, Singh BP. Design of

temperature sensor using ring oscillator.
International Journal of Scientific and
Engineering Research. May 2012;3(5)

[5] Owen RL, Holton JM, Schulze-Briese

C, Garman EF. Determination of X-ray
flux using silicon pin diodes. Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation. 2009;16:143-
151. Published Online 2009 Feb 25. DOI:
10.1107/S0909049508040429

[6] Ouyang Y, He J, Hu j, Wang SX.

A current sensor based on the giant
magnetoresistance effect: Design and
potential smart grid applications.
Switzerland: Sensors, Basel;
2012;12(11):15520-15541. Published
Online 2012 Nov 9. DOI: 10.3390/s
121115438

[7] Watson WH, Troy JW. Computer-

controlled performance monitor for
microwave tubes. In: NOSC* Technical
Document 1070. San Diego, CA: Naval
Ocean Systems Center; 1987. *This
organization is now called Space and
Naval Warfare Systems Center (SSC
Pacific)

31
Chapter 4

Development of the Performance

Monitoring System

4.1. System design

A breadboard version of a computer-based performance monitoring system

was assembled to check its feasibility. An initial monitoring system for high-value
microwave tubes was developed during the 1970s and 1980s by Watson and Troy
[1, 2]. To assemble the breadboard system, components were chosen depending
on their availability during the 1970s and 1980s. The components available at the
time of their development effort had limited data collection and analysis rates. The
equipment purchased included a 13-slot Model 8013A CAMAC enclosure fitted
with an integral power supply, three 20-MHz analog-to-digital (A/D) converters,
one low-speed multiplexed A/D converter, and a CAMAC controller with IEEE-
488 (GPIB) interface capability, all from LeCroy Corporation. The monitor design
included a Hewlett-Packard HP-1000 computer to simulate the microprocessor
functions. For the breadboard system, this general-purpose computer provided
important capabilities for program generation and data analysis. Communication
between the CAMAC crate and the HP-1000 computer was via the GPIB bus. The
passive crate controller limited the data transfer rates but did not seriously impact
the primary goals of the program. Figure 4.1 shows a simplified block diagram
of this breadboard system. The basic A/D modules were mounted in the CAMAC
crate, which in turn was connected to the HP-1000 computer via the GPIB bus.

4.1.1 Sensors

The monitoring system was designed to accommodate three high-speed chan-

nels and up to eight low-speed channels. Since the system was designed to be
self-calibrating, it was only necessary to ensure that signals from all of the sensors
fell within the allowable limits of the A/D converters. The high- and low-speed A/D
converters allowed maximum inputs of 512 mV, and both incorporated input-level
offset adjustments. The low-speed A/D converter also used polarity switches for
each channel. The combination of these features provided the ability to handle
positive, negative, and bipolar inputs. The high-speed A/D converters also included
built-in attenuators to facilitate adjustment of input levels. In almost all cases, the
sensor signal levels were within the acceptable limits for all of the A/D converters.
The attenuation in the sensor input lines solved most of the level problems with the
sole exception of a temperature sensor, the thermocouple that had a very low output
level. Hence, the thermocouple sensor channel required 40 dB of amplification to
bring it up to acceptable levels.

4.1.2 System control

For field applications of a performance monitoring system, the trigger pulses

for operating the radar tube must also initiate the data acquisition process to

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Figure 4.1.
Simplified block diagram of the breadboard system (after Watson and Troy [2]).

ensure synchronization. This applies to both pulsed and nonpulsed operations,

since there is always a sequence of system data events that must be synchronized
for effective signal processing. In the breadboard system, the HP-1000 computer
activated all of the data acquisition modules and started the data acquisition
process. Each high-speed A/D converter contained a first-in-first-out (FIFO)
memory of 1024 8-bit words, with provisions to select a specified number of
pretrigger samples.
In operation, the high-speed A/D converter started data acquisition when
it received the system trigger. The A/D converter signaled the CAMAC crate
controller when its buffer memory was full. This information was then provided
to the HP-1000 computer, which stopped the data acquisition process and initi-
ated the transfer of data via the GPIB interface. Sixty-four 8-bit samples were
transferred from each high-speed unit on every system pulse. All of these data had
to be transferred during the interpulse period. For example, if the performance
monitor was used with a radar system operating at a repetition rate of 200 pps,
the interpulse period would be 5 ms. Therefore, during this 5 ms, all acquired data
had to be transferred, fault tests performed, mean and variance calculated, the
system reinitialized, and the data acquisition cycle restarted. If all these functions
could not be accomplished during the interpulse period, the performance monitor
would go out of synchronization and fail to operate properly. Low-speed data were
not used to determine whether a fault had occurred. During the measurement
process, all low-speed data were stored in a 32 K memory module located in the
CAMAC crate. After the data series was completed with the detected faults, the
low-speed data were transferred to the HP-1000 and used with all of the other
data in the fault analysis.

4.1.3 Data transfer

The rate of transfer of data from the high-speed A/D converters to the HP-1000
computer was the limiting factor in determining the overall system speed. The data

33
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

transfer rate was primarily limited by the time required to execute the HP-1000
software and the additional time utilized by the HP-1000 GPIB driver. The data
transfer software was written in assembly language to increase the speed. Using
high-speed techniques, it was possible to reduce the transfer time for 64 data
samples from a single high-speed A/D converter to approximately 1 ms. Thus,
3 ms was required to transfer data from all three high-speed A/D converters. An
additional 2 ms was required to perform out the data analysis. These time restric-
tions therefore allowed a maximum repetition rate of 200 pulses per second of the
pulsing radar tube.

4.1.4 Data analysis

After the transfer of high-speed A/D data to the HP-1000 computer, a very
short series of calculations and tests were conducted. Part of this computation
was concerned with determining whether a fault had occurred. The balance of the
analysis was concerned with determining expected data limits for use in later fault
analysis. The fault tests were not performed for the first 16 pulses to determine
initial expected values. Several comprehensive techniques were used to compute
these expected values, but the method finally selected was to determine the initial
maxima and minima bin values by testing an initial series of 16 pulses. These
expected values were continually updated with each subsequent pulse received. This
technique worked well and was very fast. The fault tests were conducted by testing
each data sample against the maximum and minimum values. A major fault was
considered to have occurred when five or more bin faults occurred on two succes-
sive pulses. These fault tests were performed on the RF data. After the occurrence
of a major fault, 16 additional pulses were measured to provide 32 pulses for use
in subsequent analysis. At this time, the low-speed sensor data, stored in the 32 K
memory, were transferred to the HP-1000 computer and stored with the high-speed
A/D data for later analysis.

4.1.5 Display and plot capability

A variety of printing, display, and plotting capabilities were available to support

the goals of this analysis. Once the A/D data had been transferred to the HP-1000
computer, the operator could print out hard copies of all of the data. In addition,
the operator could select one or more sets of pulse data for display on the HP-1000
display terminal. These data displays made it possible to rapidly identify data of
principal interest. After determining which data to display, the operator could
use a separate color plotting capability to generate color plots of the selected data.
Another useful printout available was the fault matrix shown in Figure 4.2, plotted
using data stored during the fault testing.
Figure 4.2 shows 40 time bins for each of the 32 stored pulses. All matrix
bins were set to zero (blank) if no fault occurred, and set to one (black) if a fault
occurred. The experimental process continued the storing of 16 additional pulses
after the occurrence of a major fault. For the example shown, one can see that initial
bin faults occurred at pulse 15 and continued into pulse 16. After measuring and
recording the 16 additional pulses, the experiment was automatically stopped. From
Figure 4.2, it is evident that the tube initially faulted at the trailing edge of the 15th
pulse and continued to fault in this same region. This type of display helped define
where faults had occurred.

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Figure 4.2.
Fault matrix printout (high-speed sensor 1 used) bin faults—solid black color (after Watson and Troy [2]).

4.2. Deployment of the performance monitoring system for magnetrons

4.2.1 Description of experimental apparatus

Tests were conducted using the breadboard performance monitoring

system with an operating microwave tube (2J52) and a 40-kW pulsed magne-
tron. Figure 4.3 shows a simplified functional diagram of the overall experi-
mental setup. During the tests, the magnetron RF output was transmitted via
a waveguide system through several sampling modules to a dummy load. The
directional couplers sent samples of the RF energy into sensors to measure
the incident and reflected power, power output, and operating frequency. An
adjustable mismatch, installed close to the dummy load, was used to vary the
output voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). Crystal detectors were used in
all of the RF sensor circuits. During the experiment, the HP-1000 computer
provided experimental control, data analysis, and data storage that would nor-
mally be provided by a microprocessor mounted in the crate. In addition, the
computer system provided valuable capabilities to display data and to generate
multicolor plots of experimental results.

35
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 4.3.
Block diagram of experimental setup (after Watson and Troy [2]).

4.2.2 Experimental procedure

First, the magnetron was brought up to full power and allowed to stabilize.
Power was then applied to all test components, and the experiment was initiated
by activating the test control software in the computer. The test control program
prompted the test operator to define sensors and to provide control of the experi-
mental process. The computer program initiated the data acquisition process, and
it then monitored and analyzed the RF sensor output for indications of faults.
Normally, the tube would not fault without help from the operator. The test oper-
ator could perform the series of experiments by adjusting the environment or the
terminal values to stress the magnetron tube. The magnetron was then stressed by
turning up the pulse voltage or by turning off the magnetron cooling. Stress was
also introduced by inducing high reflected energy in the output waveguide. When
a particular type of tube stress was applied and a fault occurred, the computer
would sense the fault, stop the sensing process, and store the fault data.
The data would then be transferred to the computer where it could be stored for
later analysis.
The operator could then view selected pulse samples to verify the nature of the
fault. By calling up the plotting program, the test operator could generate printed
output and multicolor pen plots of the fault data.

4.3. Experimental results

An extensive set of measurements were conducted to generate fault data for

analysis. These tests provided high-resolution, multisensor data from the pulsed

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Figure 4.4.
Fault in magnetron caused by increased RF pulse voltage (after Watson and Troy [2]).

magnetron under stress. The analyses of these data were used as a basis for evaluat-
ing the effectiveness of the overall performance monitor concept. Two separate sets
of measurements were conducted for each tube stress mode.

37
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

4.3.1 High pulse voltage

The high-pulse voltage tests were performed by operating the magnetron near
full power and then slowly increasing the pulse voltage level until a fault occurred.
Results from a typical test are presented in Figure 4.4. The computer plotter
provided color plots of the pulse voltage, pulse current, and RF power output for
several pulses before, during, and after the fault. All high-speed plots include at
least one pulse before the fault and at least one or two pulses after each fault. The
horizontal scale on these plots provides 40 resolution bins, corresponding to a time
period of 2 ms, while the vertical scale shows the 256 amplitude levels of the 8-bit
resolution of A/D converters. A summary plot for low-speed data is provided at the
bottom of each figure.
The low-speed data were recorded during, or slightly after, every system pulse.
The low-speed sensor display showed relative levels of the filament voltage, fila-
ment current, average tube current, body temperature, and VSWR. The display
was designed as a horizontal bar chart, where a horizontal line is drawn to indicate
the normal range of values and a tick mark to indicate the mean value. In addi-
tion, each low-speed sensor value at the time of the fault is marked with an “X.”
The VSWR values shown are peak values that were smoothed and filtered with a
capacitive filter with a discharge time constant approximately four times the pulse
length. In certain cases, the low-speed data would directly indicate the cause of
the fault. In other cases, the low-speed sensors showed some of the effects from
the fault. In many cases, results of low-speed sensors did not help identify the
cause of the fault.
Returning to Figure 4.4, the results show that the initial fault occurred on pulse
15 (the blue curve). It started near the middle of the pulse with an increase in mag-
netron current and a resulting drop in pulse voltage. The drop in pulse voltage was
due to increased modulator loading as a result of the tube arc current. Fluctuations
of pulse voltage are a common characteristic of modulators operating under vary-
ing load conditions. This overvoltage is exhibited by the higher-than-normal-pulse
voltage following the fault. The increased current could be caused by spurious emis-
sion from surface damage resulting from the arc. The severe drop-off of RF output
during the middle of this pulse shows that the current flowing in the arc stopped the
normal operation of the magnetron.
Low-speed sensors do not add much to the analysis of the test. The average
magnetron current increased as expected during an arc. The changes in body
temperature are minor and probably result from arc transients. Note that the
low-speed sensor value labeled “VSWR” is only useful for indicating reflected
power when the output power remains constant. During most experiments, the
reflected RF energy would normally be expected to drop because of the drop
in RF output. In addition, there would be fluctuations due to arc transients and
spurious RF outputs, since the reflected power is measured during the pulse.
Either of these effects can cause a significant variation in the reflected RF energy.
In general, reflected energy is only considered as a valid indicator when it is the
primary cause of the fault.

4.3.2 Low filament power

The low filament power tests were performed by bringing the magnetron up
to full power, letting it stabilize, and then turning off the filament voltage. One of
the problems with these tests was due to the difficulty in getting the magnetron to
undergo stress. Since the magnetron was operating at moderate duty levels, there

38
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Figure 4.5.
Fault in magnetron caused by low filament power (after Watson and Troy [2]).

was a considerable amount of backheating due to RF interactions. It was therefore

necessary to wait a long time after removing the filament power before any effects
could be observed. The first indication of tube stress was a drop in magnetron cur-
rent (Figure 4.5). This drop in current caused some overvoltage due to unloading
of the modulator, which in turn induced an arc. An increase in pulse current on the
following pulse was possibly a result of surface damage from the arc. The low-speed
sensors clearly indicate the cause of the problem, since they show a major drop in
filament voltage and current. Therefore, in this case, both high- and low-speed
sensors are effective in pinpointing the cause of the problem.

39
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 4.6.
Fault in magnetron caused by high filament power (after Watson and Troy [2]).

4.3.3 High filament power

These tests were performed similar to the previous tests, except that the filament
voltage was turned up rather than down. Figure 4.6 shows results very similar to
those obtained when the filament power was turned off. The fault seems to start
with a reduction in magnetron current, coupled with some overvoltage, and a

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Figure 4.7.
Fault in magnetron caused by high VSWR (after Watson and Troy [2]).

subsequent arc. The basic failure mechanism seems to involve poisoning of the
cathode by the evaporation of contaminating materials, as a result of the filament
power increase. The low-speed sensors clearly indicate the cause of the problem is
that the filament voltage and filament current are high.

4.3.4 High VSWR

The high-VSWR tests were performed by bringing the magnetron to full power
and then adjusting the mismatch section in the output waveguide to introduce

41
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

a large reflection. A high VSWR (approximately 4:1) was required to stress the
magnetron sufficiently to cause it to arc. Results in Figure 4.7 show that the initial
fault starts with a reduction of magnetron current. This appears to be caused by high
cathode back bombardment and damage resulting from the high fields generated

Figure 4.8.
Fault in magnetron caused by loss of cooling (after Watson and Troy [2]).

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within the magnetron interaction area by the reflected energy. The low-speed sensor
display pins down the actual cause, since high-VSWR values are clearly indicated.

4.3.5 Loss of cooling

The magnetron was cooled by an air blower. These tests were conducted by
bringing the magnetron up to full power and then turning off the air cooling. It took
a considerable amount of time, but the magnetron finally faulted due to overheat-
ing. Figure 4.8 shows the results from these tests. Again, the fault is initially
exhibited by a drop in emission, with the familiar sequence of over-voltaging and
arcing. The low-speed sensor data can pinpoint the cause, since the body tempera-
ture reading is considerably above its expected value.

4.4. Summary and conclusions

Results obtained from the breadboard system clearly indicate that an effective
microwave tube performance monitoring system could be fabricated using off-
the-shelf components available at the time. Real-time data from a stressed (2J52)
magnetron offered high-quality information previously unavailable for fault analy-
sis. This kind of information, if returned with a failed tube, could be invaluable in
determining the cause of failure. Furthermore, this kind of information can be used
to identify tube and system deficiencies and system/tube incompatibilities.
The breadboard studies showed that high-speed sampling, without filtering,
is adequate for almost all types of performance monitoring applications. Higher
A/D converter speeds are becoming available, but higher sampling rates will not
necessarily provide significantly greater analysis information. The time required
to digitize data was not the principal limiting factor in applying these concepts. A
major limitation resulted from the small amount of time available during the system
interpulse period for data buffering and fault analysis. The breadboard system
described here could only be used for radar tubes in the field operating at repeti-
tion rates of 200 pps or less. Increasing data acquisition speed could, in some cases,
make the situation worse, by increasing the amount of data that must be transferred
and analyzed during the small time interval available.

4.5. Some shortcomings and solutions

Several technical problems arose during the breadboard efforts. One of these
involved sampling bin shifting when measuring repetitive pulses. This problem was
eventually solved by using a triggered clock to cause the first sample-clock pulse to
occur in synchronization with the system trigger. This type of synchronization was
clearly necessary when performing high-resolution analysis of a sequence of pulses.
Another set of problems occurred because the microprocessor unit was operated
in a high man-made noise environment. The solution to these problems was more
difficult for sensors having very low signal levels, which made them more suscep-
tible to interference from arcs and transients. The breadboard system layout was not
ideal for minimizing this problem, since the components were spread out all over
the test bench. Even so, it was possible to achieve reasonable success in reducing the
effects of noise generated by fault transients and transmitted through space, and
through the interconnecting power system. It was possible to solve these problems
in the breadboard system by using power line filtering, shielding, and good ground
connections. For example, the entire test bench was covered with a sheet of copper.

43
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

The ultimate solution to the interference problems was to mount all of the data
acquisition modules in a single, shielded enclosure with a built-in power supply. The
breadboard system was then successfully operated in a 40-kW pulse-power envi-
ronment. When using a single-shielded enclosure, it was expected that satisfactory
performance could be achieved in megawatt-level environments.
The interference problem was most difficult for the temperature sensor, which
had a very low output, and required considerable amplification. The level of most
of the other sensor inputs was greater than 20 or 30 mV; however, the problems
for them were not too severe. The slowly varying data from the low-speed sensors
were smoothed using low-pass filtering to eliminate spurious signals. Interference
to the low-speed sensors was also effectively reduced by starting the A/D cycle after
the end of the high-power pulse, thus effectively moving most of these signals out
of the arcing time frame. The voltage levels used for triggering and synchroniza-
tion were sufficiently high to make them reasonably immune from interference.
Therefore, the use of other high-level logic systems would seem unwarranted for
these kinds of applications.

4.6. Performance monitoring systems for traveling wave tube

and crossed-field amplifiers

The monitoring system designs developed by Watson and Troy, and initially
applied to magnetron tubes, were also adapted for performance monitoring of
traveling wave tube and crossed-field amplifiers. Tests carried out on these devices
gave similar successful results [3–5].

4.7. Conclusions

Based on these efforts and the results obtained, it seems clear that high-speed,
microprocessor-based performance monitors using the technology of the time
could be effectively used to improve microwave tube reliability. The performance
monitor could be employed to localize and identify the nature and extent of
problems that lead to eventual tube failures. Timely awareness of the problems that
result from stressing microwave tubes beyond specified limits can prevent tube
failures and significantly reduce annual operating tube costs for many systems
currently used in the field.

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References

[1] Watson WH, Troy JW. Reliability/

Maintainability Monitor and Control for
Microwave Tubes. NOSC Preliminary
Report; 1980

[2] Watson WH, Troy JW. Computer-

controlled performance monitor for
microwave tubes. In: NOSC Technical
Document 1070. San Diego, CA: Naval
Ocean Systems Center; 1987

[3] Utilization of computer-aided

real-time monitoring techniques
for stress and reliability analysis. In:
Proceedings of the Monterey Power
Tube Conference, Naval Postgraduate
School, Monterey, CA. Palo Alto, CA:
Varian Corp.; 1984

[4] Rovnak JM. Traveling wave tube

monitoring and control study program.
NESC Contract No: N00123-79-C-0484,
Final Report, Phase I. Fullerton, CA:
Hughes Aircraft Co.; 1980

[5] Ashley GH. Reliability and

maintainability monitor. NOSC
Contract-No: 0058/NOSC Report No:
CR-300. Waltham, MA: Microwave and
Power Tube Division, Raytheon Co.;
1985

45
Chapter 5

Acoustic Emission Sensing for

Microwave Tubes

5.1. Need for new nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods

Current microprocessor-based systems, with as many as 11 sensors, are designed

as described in the previous chapter, to monitor tube performance, provide tube
protection, and record a comprehensive tube failure history. A major limitation
with these systems is due to the small amount of time available during the tube’s
interpulse period, for data buffering and fault analysis. These monitoring systems
work well if the microwave tube is operated at a rate of 200 pps or less. Microwave
tubes are typically operated at rates up to 1000 pps with a 1-μs pulse duration.
Increasing the data acquisition speed will, in this case, make the situation worse,
since it increases the amount of data that must be transferred and analyzed during
the small time interval available. Consequently, although the microprocessor-based
monitoring systems have merits, they also have limitations. So a need exists for
a different NDE solution that can overcome the limitations created by fast pulse
repetition rates.
Research over the past several years has established the effectiveness of acoustic
emission (AE)-based sensing methodologies for machine condition analysis and
process monitoring. Acoustic emission has been proposed and evaluated for various
sensing tasks, as described in the review of Chapter 1. These examples led us to try
AE as an advanced NDE method for in situ performance monitoring of high-power
microwave tubes. The question was whether the microwave radar tubes operating
under normal conditions could generate AE signals. If they could not generate AE
signals, then we could not use the technique. However, if they generate AE activity,
we would need to understand the mechanism involved.
A literature survey led us to many research papers on topics indirectly related
to the subject of the current investigation. We learned that acoustic emission was
recently used to detect arcs on sputtering targets. Conventional arc detection
techniques involve detecting voltage or current spikes occurring in power supply
lines when arcs are initiated. These techniques are not immune to unwanted electri-
cal noise signals and may generate false counts. Therefore, the implementation of
nonelectric arc detection and counting techniques may provide some advantages by
improving noise immunity. An arc detection and counting technique, which moni-
tors the AE signals generated by the arcing event, was used successfully.
The fundamental principle of this method is based on the phenomenon of
acoustic pulse generation when an arc-generated shock wave strikes a solid. The
characteristics of AE signals generated by single-pulse corona discharges were
measured and used as a diagnostic tool to estimate insulation deterioration in
oil-immersed pole transformers. Frequency-spectrum analysis of AE signals
generated by partial discharges was used to develop a technique to distinguish them
from AE signals generated by corona discharges. For recorded waveforms of AE
signals, Theobald et al. [1] pointed out the difference between the AE event energy
(AEenergy) and the AE energy descriptor (EAE). The AE event energy (AEenergy) is
given by:

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(1)

Generally, AE stress waves disperse throughout a medium until their interac-

tion with an interface or boundary leads to the production of reverberating fields.
Although this energy will be mostly absorbed by the medium, some of the energy can
be detected by using a high-frequency piezoelectric ceramic transducer. Assuming that
all mechanisms of energy loss in the structure and measurement system are constant,
the measured electrical signal energy from the transducer could then be said to be pro-
portional to the AE event energy (AEenergy). Here, T is the time length of the transient
signal produced and V(t) is the transient signal voltage. The measured electrical signal
energy is often referred to as the AE energy descriptor (EAE) and is written as:

(2)

where EAE refers to the AE energy measured in the transducer and R is the total
impedance of the measuring circuit. The power of the AE signal of a detected event is
thus proportional to the power of the source event. The advantage of energy measure-
ment over ring down counting is that energy measurements can be directly related to
important physical parameters without having to model the AE signal. Energy mea-
surements also improve the AE measurement when emission signal amplitudes are low.

5.2. Application of AE sensing methods to microwave tubes

Based on these previously demonstrated AE sensing capabilities, we decided to

try applying AE techniques as a new method for performance monitoring of high-
power microwave tubes. A brief description of the equipment assembled together
for the project is as follows.

5.2.1 Acoustic emission transducers

Four transducers were used in this study. They were types R50, R80, and S9208 from
Physical Acoustics Corporation and B1025 from Digital Wave Corporation (Figure 5.1).
The truncated conical aluminum piece at the right end was fabricated in a machine
shop to function as a match between the curved surface of the anode of the magnetron
and the flat front surface of the S9208 sensor. The R50 sensor has peaks at 100, 300,

Figure 5.1.
Acoustic emission transducers for AE signals from high-power microwave tubes. The rightmost object is
aluminum matching buffer piece.

47
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

and 500 kHz, based on the data provided by the manufacturer. It is a general-purpose
transducer useful for monitoring AE activity in the range of 100–700 kHz. The R80
sensor shows peak responses at frequencies of 130, 300, and 390 kHz according to data
from the manufacturer. It is a general-purpose transducer useful for monitoring AE
activity in the range of 200–1000 kHz. The S9208 sensor is a wideband displacement
sensor recommended by the manufacturer for usage over the range of 20–1000 kHz. It
is highly damped, using a tungsten powder backing. The fourth sensor used was a B1025
broadband sensor with a flat response over the frequency range of 1 Hz–1.5 MHz. The
characteristics of the four transducers were independently evaluated during this work
and were found to be in agreement to those supplied by their manufacturers.

5.2.2 Acoustic emission preamplifier

The 2/4/6 preamplifier from Physical Acoustics Corporation, used in this

project, has three gain settings of 20, 40, and 60 dB. It has a high-input impedance,
greater than 20 MΩ.
It can produce large output signals up to 20 Vpp into 50 Ω. The useful frequency
range of this preamplifier as tested in this work is 100 kHz–1 MHz.

5.2.3 Acoustic emission postamplifier

A model AE1A from Physical Acoustics Corporation was used as the postampli-
fier. Its total gain, achievable in 3-db steps, is 41 dB. Its input impedance, at the
terminal “AE INPUT,” and output impedance, at the terminal “AE OUT,” are both
50 Ω. Its useful frequency range, as tested in this project, is 100 kHz–1 MHz. The
preamplifier receives about 21 V DC power from the postamplifier, on the same
coaxial cable that carries the AE signal from the preamplifier to the postamplifier.

5.2.4 The oscilloscope

To view the AE activity of a microwave radar tube in operation, we decided to

use a digital oscilloscope. The oscilloscope used to monitor AE activity was a LeCroy
Model 9354AM. One important feature of this oscilloscope was its four channels,
each having a bandwidth of 500 MHz. Each of the oscilloscope’s four identical
input channels was equipped with a 500-MSPS, 8-bit analog-to-digital converter.
Acquisition memories of 2 million points simplified transient event capture by pro-
viding long-waveform records. The capture of waveform was possible even when
the trigger timing or signal speed was uncertain. The data from the screen could be
dumped and stored on a 3.5-inch, double-sided, high-density disk. This completes
the description of the equipment.

5.3. Response characteristics of transducers

The frequency responses of all four transducers were evaluated in the laboratory
although data on the responses had also been supplied by their manufactures. These
manufacturer-provided responses are shown in Figures 5.2A–5.5A for the R50,
R80, S9208, and B1025 transducers, respectively. The calibration of the AE sensors
was standardized by using a capacitive transducer to capture the initial arrival
of a displacement signal, produced by the fracture of a glass capillary on a metal
surface. This procedure allowed the development of quantitative comparisons of
AE experiments with theories of acoustic wave propagation. AE activity may be of
a discrete or continuous nature. Attempts were made to generate standard pulses,
which for discrete ones, corresponded to the delta function, while in the case of

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Figure 5.2.
(A) Amplitude versus frequency for transducer R50. (B) Response of R50 to impulse loading and spectrum (Ch
3: AE Signal; Time Scale =0.1 ms/div; Y-axis = 200 mV/div; Ch A: Magnitude of FFT; X-axis = 0.1 MHz/div;
Y-axis = 17 mV/div).

continuous emission, to white noise. The standard signal should be characterized

by parameters, measured in time and frequency domains, using sensors located
as closely to the AE signal source as possible. The breaking of a mechanical pencil
lead simulated an AE source of discrete nature. This procedure was performed on
a circular aluminum plate one-half-inch thick and 6 in in diameter. The lead was
broken on the plate at a distance of ½ in from the AE transducer, which was coupled
with silicone grease to the same surface of the plate. Figures 5.2B–5.5B show the
responses of sensors R50, R80, S9208, and B1025, respectively, to the laboratory AE
simulation testing. In all four of these figures, Channel 3 (horizontal scale, 0.1 ms)
shows the received AE signal, while trace A (horizontal scale 100 kHz per division)
shows the magnitude fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the AE signal.
49
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 5.3.
(A) Amplitude versus frequency for transducer R80. (B) Response of R80 to impulse loading and spectrum (Ch 3:
AE Signal; X-axis =0.1 ms/div; Y-axis = 0.50 V/div; Ch A: Magnitude of FFT; X-axis = 0.1 MHz/div; Y-axis =
23.5 mV/div).

Comparing Figure 5.2A with Figure 5.2B, both for the narrow-band sensor R50,
Figure 5.2A shows that there are five peaks between 100 and 200 kHz, while on the
same frequency range, two peaks can be easily identified in Figure 5.2B.
Next, comparing Figure 5.3A with Figure 5.3B, both for the narrow-band sensor
R80, Figure 5.3A shows two peaks between 200 and 300 kHz, while over the same
frequency range, two peaks can also be identified in Figure 5.3B. Comparing Figure
5.4A with Figure 5.4B, both for the broadband, highly damped transducer S9208, the
peaks in Figure 5.4A are not high, although we see them relatively more pronounced in
the region between 90 and 200 kHz, while Figure 5.4B, on the contrary, shows much
higher peaks on the same frequency band relative to peaks at other frequencies. For this
sensor, smaller peaks can be found up to 500 kHz.
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Figure 5.4.
(A) Amplitude versus frequency for transducer S9208. (B) Response of S9208 to impulse loading and spectrum
(Ch 3: AE Signal; Time Scale =0.1 ms/div; Y-axis = 0.50 V/div; Ch A: Magnitude of FFT; X-axis = 0.1 MHz/div;
Y-axis = 20 mV/div).

Finally, comparing Figure 5.5A with Figure 5.5B, both for the broadband trans-
ducer B1025, Figure 5.5A shows a continuous decrease in amplitude, without peaks,
with increasing excitation frequency, while Figure 5.5B shows high peaks over the
band of 100–200 kHz.

5.4. Applications of AE sensor technology to high-power microwave

tube magnetron

The high-power microwave tube used in this experiment was a type 2J55
magnetron. A magnetron is an oscillator that is small and lightweight, with rea-
sonable operating voltages, good efficiency, rugged construction, and a long life.
51
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 5.5.
(A) Amplitude versus frequency for transducer B1025. (B) Response of B1025 to impulse loading and spectrum
(Ch 3: AE Signal; X-axis = 0.1 ms/div; Y-axis = 200 mV/div; Ch A: Magnitude of FFT; X-axis = 0.1 MHz/div;
Y-axis = 10 mV/div).

The magnetron was the first practical high-power pulsed radar source used at
microwave frequencies, and it is still rather widely used today. The magnetron
converts energy, extracted from an electric current, to an RF field. It is a kind of
diode [3], as shown in the simplified schematic of Figure 5.6.
The principal parts of a magnetron are the cathode, the interaction region, the
cavities, and the output coupling. The magnetron essentially consists of a cop-
per cylinder, into which resonant holes were machined. These holes connect with
the interior of the cylinder via slots. A cathode is mounted concentrically in the
cylinder and an axial magnetic field is applied to the whole structure. A typical
field strength for this magnetic field, in the case of a 2J55 magnetron, is 1900–2100
Gauss. This magnetic field is normally provided by permanent magnets built into
the magnetron, and is not changeable.

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Figure 5.6.
Simple schematic of magnetron tube (after TM 11-1524 [3].

The outside of the magnetron is a grounded shell to which the plate of the
magnetron is connected (Figure 5.6). The cathode of the tube is heated indirectly
and has one side of its heating filament connected to it. The cathode heater filament
voltage is 6.3 V. The filament is fed by a transformer whose secondary winding is
insulated to withstand the peak modulator pulse voltage applied to the cathode.
Applying a high negative voltage pulse, through a high-voltage concentric bush-
ing, to the cathode of the magnetron leads to the emission of electrons from the
cathode, as illustrated in Figure 5.6. The electric field E and magnetic field H are
crossed in the interaction region; hence, the magnetron is called a crossed-field
device. The electrons emitted from the cathode are initially accelerated toward the
positively charged regions of the anode. In traveling toward the anode, the paths of
the electrons are curved by the axial magnetic field and their trajectories take them
toward the negatively charged regions of the anode. This leads to positive feedback
and causes the magnetron to oscillate. In addition to their basic helical motions,
the electrons are also velocity modulated and tend to form bunches as they pass the
cavities. In an eight-cavity magnetron, these bunches form four spokes centered on
the cathode and these rotate in synchronism with the oscillatory field. If the condi-
tions are chosen correctly, the electrons will convert some of their kinetic energy
into RF energy. This energy given up will increase the amplitude of the oscillations
in the cavity.
When the magnetron is oscillating, the cavities are coupled together by oscilla-
tory E and H fields, and therefore energy can be extracted from all cavities by a loop
within a single cavity. The voltage/current relationship for a microwave magnetron
is nonlinear, and hence, a magnetron is often represented by an equivalent circuit
consisting of a biased diode with the magnetron’s stray capacitance represented
by a capacitor connected in parallel. An appreciable current is not drawn by a
conventional magnetron until a critical voltage, approximately 90% of the operat-
ing voltage, is reached. This voltage is called the Hartree voltage [2]. However, low

53
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

levels of RF output power may be generated by the tube, even below the Hartree
voltage. Therefore, be careful to ensure that voltage is promptly removed after the
desired pulse and not reapplied, even at low levels.

5.5. Magnetron operating characteristics

A photograph of a magnetron tube along with other microwave tubes is shown

in Figure 5.7A and B. A magnetron unit is mounted on top of two large cabinets

Figure 5.7.
(A) Magnetron, ruler, opened TWT, and TWT ( from left to right). (B) Klystron amplifier electronic Tube
from varian-type VA-889F.

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Figure 5.8.
Magnetron (center) with waveguide (right) on the top of power supply and pulser cabinets.

containing a power supply and modulator as shown in Figure 5.8. When a voltage pulse
of the proper magnitude, typically −15 kV DC, is applied, the magnetron will oscillate
at a frequency determined by the dimensions of the cavities in the magnetron, which
form a resonant circuit. The RF energy generated by the magnetron used in this setup
was at 9.6 GHz. For a 2J55 magnetron, the size of the cavities is around 2 mm. As men-
tioned earlier, one cavity is coupled inductively to a pick-up loop that is connected to
a probe transition that feeds the RF energy into a waveguide. The peak electrical input
power to the magnetron was 210 kW and the peak RF output power was 50 kW. The
current during the 1-ms pulse is about 20 A. The duty cycle (width of pulse/period
between pulses = 1 ms/0.01666 s) for 60 pps is 6 × 10−5, or 0.006%. This is also called
the duty factor (pulse length × pulse repetition rate = 1 ms × 60 pps). Combining these
results gives a value for the average current (peak current × pulse width × number of
pulses per second = 20 A × 1 ms × 60 pps, for example) drawn by the magnetron of
about 1.2 mA.
One problem with magnetron oscillators is that the interaction space in a magnetron
can support more than one possible mode of oscillation. In well-designed magnetrons,
the various modes are well separated in both voltage and frequency, and the magnetron
will provide stable operation in the desired mode. However, certain parameters, notably
the characteristics of the modulator, such as the rate of rise of voltage (RRV), can
strongly influence the mode of oscillation in magnetrons. Operation in other than the
normal mode (called moding) is usually undesirable because oscillations are not at the
normal operating frequency, and consequently, the power does not properly couple out
of the tube. Double moding can be detected by the appearance of a smaller pulse, which
varies in amplitude, underneath the main pulse. Double moding could also happen due
to a change in loading, in magnetic field strength, or in applied voltage [3].
Another property of magnetrons, which is probably related to moding, is their
tendency to produce occasional RF output pulses of reduced amplitude or to fail to
produce any RF output pulse. In a well-designed tube, such missing pulses would
typically occur less often than 1 in 104. As with any high-power tube, the possibility

55
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

of internal tube arcing always exists. Particularly, in the case of magnetrons, inter-
nal arcing is one factor that must be given attention in the design of the modulator
or pulser used to drive the tube.
In some magnetrons, the impact of electrons returning to the cathode generates
so much heat that a magnetron can continue to operate normally if the filament
voltage is removed. The output frequency varies about 0.05 MHz per degree change
in magnetron temperature. Thus, a gradual frequency shift may be observed during
the initial warm-up period. The magnetron is cooled during normal operation by
an air blower and its temperature is monitored by a temperature sensor connected
to a digital readout device. As mentioned before, the resistance of the magnetron is
nonlinear. At low plate-voltage values, large changes of plate voltage result in minor
changes in plate current. In the normal operating mode, however, a 10% increase
in plate voltage may produce a 100% increase in plate current, depending upon the
characteristics of the tube operated at a given value of the magnetic field strength.

5.6. Waveguides and VSWR

For minimum losses and high-power transmission at microwave frequencies,

waveguide is used extensively. The magnetron in the current work was connected to
a rectangular waveguide. A waveguide consists of a single metallic conductor in the
shape of a rectangular box, or cylinder, inside of which electromagnetic waves are
propagated. Waveguides are usually made of brass, copper, or aluminum in vari-
ous standard sizes corresponding to the microwave frequencies used. Waveguide
sections are usually coupled together by flanged assemblies that are bolted together
and supported periodically on metal stands. The guided waves in waveguides have
field configurations that are somewhat different from those of two-wire open lines.
Waveguide transmission line is characterized by two important features. First,
there is a minimum frequency below which a given waveguide will not transmit the
wave. This is called the cut-off frequency, fc, and is directly related to the size of
the waveguide used. Second, there is always a component of either E or H along the
direction of propagation. The guided waves propagate along the waveguide with
different field patterns called “modes.” Modes are of two types, those that have an
E component along the direction of propagation, called TM or E waves, and those
with an H component along the direction of propagation, called TE or H waves.
Rectangular waveguides have fewer losses than those of circular waveguides and
are less prone to develop undesired modes. Hence, they are commonly used. The
parameters associated with rectangular or circular waveguide are impedance Z
and cut-off wavelength λc, and they are closely related to the dimensions of the
waveguide, while attenuation losses depend on these factors as well as on the inner
surface finish and metal of the waveguide walls. For an example, some figures for
the TE10 wave mode in rectangular waveguide are as follows:

ZTE (Ohms) = 377λg/λ and λc = 2a, (3)

where λg is the guide wavelength, λ is the free space wavelength, and λc is the
cut-off wavelength with “a” being the width of the waveguide [4].
The magnetron can be connected to a waveguide to inject microwaves into which
they can propagate as sinusoidal waves to an RF load. If the load absorbs all of the
waves, then there is no reflection. This occurs when the RF load and the waveguide
have equal impedances. This condition is called a matched load. But if there is a
load mismatch, then some of the incident power is not absorbed by the load and is

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Figure 5.9.
(A) Good RF pulse matched coupling-50 Ω input impedance to the oscilloscope. (B) Distorted RF pulse
unmatched input impedance of 1 MΩ to the oscilloscope. Note: Both pulses from the square law diode
detector from the location on the waveguide of the magnetron. (C) Good RF pulses at 60 pulses per second
and separated by 16.67 ms. Time scale = 5 ms/div, amplitude on Y-axis = 5 V/div. (D) Faulty RF pulse
from magnetron with high frequency content. Pulse width = 1 μs X-axis = 1 μs/div Y-axis = 200 mV/div.
(E) Two faulty RF pulses from magnetron due to irregular triggering. Time scale = 1 μs/div amplitude on
Y-axis = 200 mV/div.

57
Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

reflected back. The reflected wave then combines with the transmitted wave, result-
ing in a new wave pattern for which the amplitude varies with the position along
the waveguide. These amplitude variations stand still in the waveguide and, hence,
are called standing waves. The ratio of the maximum to the minimum amplitude
is called the voltage standing wave ratio or VSWR, and is a measure of the amount
of RF energy reflected back into the waveguide toward the magnetron. Knowing
the VSWR at the load is important because if the VSWR is too high, an appreciable
amount of energy will be reflected back to the magnetron, which could cause severe
damage. The VSWR can be written as:

VSWR = Vmax/Vmin =(Vi + Vr)/(Vi − Vr), (4)

where Vi and Vr are the voltages due to the incident and reflective wave, respec-
tively. The VSWR can be measured with a network analyzer or with the slotted line
method using a probe and VSWR meter [5].

5.7. RF pulses from a magnetron

Before coupling any AE equipment to the magnetron system, we decided to

operate the magnetron and observe the RF pulses generated by it using the oscil-
loscope. Figure 5.9A shows a single RF pulse of 1-ms width with a 50-Ω terminating
resistor at the input channel of the oscilloscope. Figure 5.9B shows the same pulse
without the termination.
Figure 5.9C shows a time interval of 16.66 ms between successive RF pulses
for a pulse repetition rate of 60 pps. Even during normal operation of the magne-
tron, faulty RF pulses could occur. Figure 5.9D shows a single bad RF pulse with
a high-frequency content. Figure 5.9E shows two bad RF pulses with a separation
less than 16.67 ms due to irregular triggering. These RF pulses were from the square
law crystal diode detector. The input to the square law diode was used to detect
the RF output from the waveguide of the magnetron. The height of the pulse
could be adjusted using an attenuator inserted into the waveguide. The frequency
could be measured using a frequency meter coupled to the waveguide. During this
procedure, the whole test assembly was kept cool by two running fans, one for
the magnetron and the other for the load at the other end of the waveguide. With
these initial tests providing an understanding of the functioning of the magnetron,
the next step was to couple AE equipment to the magnetron unit and observe and
record AE signals generated during normal and abnormal operation of the magne-
tron, as described in the next chapter.

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References

[1] Theobald P, Rokowski RT, Yan T,

Jarvis D, Dowson S, Jones BE. Reference
source for calibration of acoustic
emission measurement. In: IEEE
Instrumentation and Measurement,
Technology Conference, Budapest,
Hungary, May 21-23, 2001. pp. 412-416

[2] Ewell GW. Radar Transmitters.

New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company;
1981. p. 23

[3] Radio Sets SCR-584-A and SCR-

584-B Service Manual, Theory,
Troubleshooting and Repair, War
Department Technical Manual,
TM-11-1524, July 1946, p.15

[4] Connor FR. Wave Transmission.

London, UK: Edward Arnold; 1972. p. 7

[5] Love W. Magnetrons. In: Koryu Ishii

T, editor. Handbook of Microwave
Technology. Vol. 2. San Diego, CA:
Academic Press; 1995. p. 36

59
Chapter 6

Acoustic Emissions from

Magnetrons

6.1. Experimental setup

A simplified schematic of the experimental equipment is shown in Figure 6.1. Figure 6.2
is a photo showing the 2J56 magnetron and the acoustic emissions (AE) equipment
arranged on the top of two large cabinets housing a high-voltage DC power supply and
pulse modulator. The magnetron is painted black, and is hence difficult to see it in the
figure. The red-colored cable in the figure runs from the sensor mounted on the cylin-
drical anode of the magnetron to the input of the preamplifier located in the front. On
the right-hand side is the waveguide (greenish-gray color) carrying RF energy to the
load. On the left-hand side is the postamplifier. In Figure 5.8 of Chapter 5, the complete
waveguide is seen with the square law crystal diode RF detector located adjacent to
the RF load at the right end. The voltage pulses from this detector, representing the RF
pulses, are sent to Channel 4 of the oscilloscope (Figure 6.3), the AE signal is displayed
on Channel 3, the cathode current pulse is fed to Channel 2, and the cathode voltage
from a high-voltage probe (Tektronix-Model 015-049) goes to Channel 1. In Figure 6.3,
an Interstate Electronics Model P25 pulse generator is located under the oscilloscope. Its
output (typically 200–1000 pps) goes to the external trigger on the oscilloscope and the
pulse modulator trigger (left-hand cabinet). The pulser’s pulse rate (number of trigger
pulses per second), width, and amplitude can be adjusted while being monitored on the
oscilloscope, for example on Channel 2. The oscilloscope can process the four traces A, B,
C, and D in several ways, including zooming in the time scale. In this case, the top trace
C on the oscilloscope screen is the zoom of an individual RF pulse from Channel 4, the
middle trace is the AE signal on Channel 3 as described before, and the bottom trace B is
the zoom of a single cathode current pulse from Channel 2. The trace A is used to obtain
a magnitude fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the AE signal. The scope’s capacity to test a
waveform, in this case a single current pulse on trace B, against a defined mask (trace D),
made it possible to capture on the screen abnormal current pulses and run mathematical
operations such as FFTs of AE signals generated during abnormal functioning of the
magnetron. As discussed in Chapter 4, the magnetron was purposely stressed by shifting
the parameters from their normal values at which it was designed to operate. It may then
produce abnormal cathode current pulses leading to abnormal RF pulses. The magnitude
FFT of the AE activity picked up during abnormal functioning of the tube was computed
by the oscilloscope and all traces from its screen saved on a disk. These traces were then
compared with those obtained during stable functioning of the tube. This testing proce-
dure was expected to show us whether the acoustic emissions from the magnetron could
be used as a noninvasive method of performance monitoring of the normal and abnormal
functioning of the tube.

6.2. Experimental procedure

The normal operating parameters of the magnetron (2J56) used in this work and
deviations made in them to stress the tube are described next. The normal filament

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voltage of the oscillator tube is 6.3 V AC, obtained through a step-down transformer
whose primary normally operates at 115 V AC. By decreasing the voltage of the pri-
mary from 115 to 60 V, the cathode emission could be decreased to produce abnor-
mal current pulses. This was the first deviation from the normal parameters. The
normal operating pulse rate (PR) of the pulses from the high-voltage modulator
was 1000 pulses per second (pps). It could be increased up to 1500 pps or decreased
to 100 pps. This was the second deviation from the normal parameters. The pulse
width was maintained constant at 1 μs.
In this work, the pulse rate was varied within the range of 100–1000 pps. With 1000
pps, the average power output was around 50 W. With 100 pps, it decreases to 5 W.

Figure 6.1.
Schematic of acoustic emission experiment with magnetron (after Joshi et al. [2]).

Figure 6.2.
Photo of setup of AE equipment next to magnetron.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 6.3.
AE signal from magnetron on LeCroy digital oscilloscope.

The ambient room temperature was about 65°F. At 100 pps, the temperature of
the tube rose to 95°F. To keep it from rising beyond that level, air was blown on the
tube with a fan, with a second fan keeping the waveguide section and load cool. The
third way to stress the tube was to shut off the first fan and let the temperature of
the magnetron rise. The temperature rise was rather rapid when using a pulse rate
of 1000 pps.
The RF energy produced by the tube was delivered to a load at the other end of
the waveguide. By using a variable impedance load attached to the waveguide, a
part of the energy could be reflected back to the magnetron, creating an abnormal
operating situation. Changing the ratio of the reverse power to the forward power
was the fourth way to stress the tube. The forward and reflected power levels were
measured with a Hewlett-Packard Model 432A power meter. Two 10-dB attenuators
in series were inserted when connecting the power meter sensor to the waveguide
directional coupler, when the power output was around 50 W, with only one attenu-
ator used when the power output was around 5 W.
The normal pulse voltage (PV) from the modulator was 15 kV. It could be
increased to 21 kV. This was the fifth way to create an abnormal operating param-
eter. However, this deviation could produce arcing among components inside the
high power supply cabinets. For this reason, it was used sparingly in this effort. In
general, when the tube was stressed, it produced abnormal current pulses, with
resulting abnormal RF pulses. The abnormal current pulses were captured using
the masking feature of the digital oscilloscope. The data acquisition was then
stopped and a magnitude FFT was computed for the AE signal captured from the
magnetron. The frequency spectrum of the AE activity was expected to be less
than 1 MHz. Consequently, the sampling rate was set to 250 MS/s. The displays on
the oscilloscope screen were saved on a computer disk by using its screen dump
function. This procedure was carried out for both normal and various abnormal
functioning of the magnetron tube. The AE activity was monitored with the four
different types of transducers, described in Chapter 5, in turn. Out of the 100
acoustic emission data displays reported in SSC Pacific Technical Report 1810 [1],
only a selected few are reported here to prove the usefulness of AE techniques.

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6.3. Experimental results

The data in Figure 6.4A and B were obtained by using the S9208 AE transducer.
Figure 6.4A and B shows the masking feature of the LeCroy digital oscilloscope and
its ability to catch any abnormal operation of the magnetron when it was stressed by
changing one of its normal operating parameters. The oscilloscope was triggered to
record its traces any time a trace crossed outside of the boundaries of its mask. In both
figures, the pulse rate was adjusted to 100 pps. The oscillator filament primary voltage
was set at the normal value of 115 V so that the secondary received 6.3 V. In both
figures, oscilloscope Channel 3 was connected to the output of the acoustic emission
postamplifier. Channel B was connected to the current sensor of the magnetron, and
was set to show the zoom trace of the current pulse. Channel D shows a zoom trace of
the mask used for the current pulses of Channel B. Channel A shows the magnitude
FFT of the acoustic emission signal of Channel 3. In Figure 6.4A, the pulse voltage
was set at the normal value of 15 kV, while in Figure 6.4B, it was gradually increased
to 19.5 kV until the abnormal current pulse, shown in the figure, occurred. This
abnormal pulse was caught by the mask function, which in turn triggered a screen
dump onto the floppy disk in the drive in the oscilloscope.
In comparing the two AE signals of Figure 6.4A and B, the pre and postam-
plifier gains were left unchanged. In both figures, the pre- and postamplifier
gains were the same. The vertical sensitivity of Channels 3 and A was also kept
unchanged at 100 and 14.6 mV/div, respectively. A comparison of the amplitudes
of the AE signals of Channel 3 shows that in both figures, when the abnormal
pulse occurred, the AE signal amplitude was reduced considerably (Figure 6.4B)
compared to the one obtained during normal operation (Figure 6.3A). The peak-
to-peak amplitude during the abnormal operation was reduced to approximately
25% of the amplitude obtained in normal operation. The FFT transform in Channel
A shows a similar reduction.
The data in Figure 6.5A and B were obtained using the R-50 AE transducer,
coupled to the magnetron anode. The pre- and the postamplifier gains were held
constant at 20 and 0 dB, respectively. The pulse rate was set to 1000 pps and the

Figure 6.4.
(A) Normal operation. Pulse rate = 100 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV; oscillator filament primary
voltage = 115 V kept constant. (B) Abnormal operation. Pulse rate = 100 pps; pulse voltage increased
to 19.5 kV. Ch 3: AE signal; Ch B: zoom of current pulse; Ch D: mask; Ch A: magnitude of FFT of
Ch3. Preamplifier gain = 20 db and postamplifier gain = 0 db. Power output = 4.3 W. Ch 3: vertical
sensitivity = 100 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.1 ms/Div. Ch B: vertical sensitivity = 9 V/Div and
horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Observation: increased pulse voltage caused abnormal functioning leading to
reduction in AE signal amplitude on Ch 3 in Figure 6.4B (after Joshi et al. [2]).

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 6.5.
(A) Normal operation. Pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV. (B) Abnormal operation. Pulse
rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV; oscillator filament primary voltage = 115 V but reduced to 95 V
to stress tube. Ch 3: AE signal; Ch B: zoom of current pulse; Ch C: zoom of RF pulse; Ch A: magnitude of
FFT of Ch 3. Preamplifier gain = 20 db and postamplifier gain = 0 db. Power output = 40 W. Ch 3: vertical
sensitivity = 1 V/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.1 ms/Div. Ch B: vertical sensitivity = 13 V/Div and
horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Ch C: vertical sensitivity = 20 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div.
Observation: reduced filament voltage caused abnormal functioning leading to reduction in AE signal amplitude
on Ch 3 of Figure 6.5B (after Joshi et al. [2]).

pulse voltage to 15 kV. None of the microwave power of about 40 W flowing to the
load at the end of the waveguide was reflected back.
In this test, all of these parameters were held constant at their normal values
except for the oscillator primary filament voltage. Figure 6.5A shows the results
when it was set at its normal value of 115 V, while Figure 6.5B shows the results
when it was gradually decreased to a value of 95 V, when the abnormal current pulse
occurred. As before, the display from the oscilloscope screen was automatically
recorded on the disk.
In both Figure 6.5A and B, Channel 3 was connected to the output of the AE
postamplifier. Channel B in Figure 6.5A shows the zoom display of the normal cur-
rent pulse, while in Figure 6.5B, it shows the zoom of the abnormal current pulse.
Channel C in Figure 6.5A shows the zoom display of the normal RF pulse, while
Figure 6.5B shows the zoom of the abnormal RF signal. Although the stressing
mode employed here was different from the previous one in Figure 6.4B, decreas-
ing the filament voltage instead of increasing the pulse voltage, produced a similar
decrease in the amplitude of the burst type of AE signal. Channel A shows the
magnitude of the FFT of the AE signal.
The data in Figure 6.6A and B were obtained using the R-80 AE transducer. The
pulse rate was 1000 pps and the pulse voltage was 15 kV. The oscillator primary fila-
ment voltage was set at the normal value of 115 V. In this case, a third parameter was
used to induce abnormal functioning of the magnetron. First, data were obtained
under normal parameter values when all the RF power was delivered to the match-
ing load attached to the waveguide, as shown in Figure 6.6A. Abnormal function-
ing was then induced by introducing a load mismatch in the waveguide, between
the magnetron and load, causing the power ratio of the reflected power to the inci-
dent power to increase, producing an abnormal current pulse. As before, the display
on the oscilloscope screen was recorded on the oscilloscope’s disk. As in previous
tests, in both Figure 6.6A and B, Channel 3 was connected to the output of the AE
postamplifier. Channel B in Figure 6.6A shows the zoom display of the normal

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Figure 6.6.
(A) Normal operation. Normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV. (B) Abnormal operation
normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV; oscillator filament primary voltage = 115 V kept
constant. Ch 3: AE signal; Ch B: zoom of current pulse; Ch C: zoom of RF pulse; Ch A: magnitude of FFT of
Ch 3. Preamplifier gain = 20 db and postamplifier gain = 0 db. Power output = 36 W forward but changed due to
load mismatch in waveguide. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.1 ms/Div. Ch B:
vertical sensitivity = 13 V/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Ch C: vertical sensitivity = 25 mV/Div and
horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Observation: waveguide load mismatch reflected RF power back to tube causing
abnormal functioning leading to reduction in AE signal amplitude in Figure 6.6B (after Joshi et al. [2]).

current pulse, while in Figure 6.6B, it shows the zoom of the abnormal current
pulse. Channel C in Figure 6.6A shows the zoom display of the normal RF signal
related to the RF power, while in Figure 6.6B, it shows the zoom of the abnormal
RF signal. In Figure 6.6B, the amplitude of the AE signal showed a decrease due to
the abnormal functioning of the magnetron, which was similar to that observed in
the two earlier cases. Here again, irrespective of the cause of abnormal function-
ing, it produced a decrease in the amplitude of the AE signal. Channel A shows the
magnitude of the FFT of the AE signal.
The experiment was repeated with the new S-9208A AE transducer. The suffix-A
indicates that the transducer S-9208A carried a concave aluminum piece in front
of the transducer faceplate to match with the convex surface of the magnetron
cylindrical anode while the transducer S-9208 did not have the matching piece. The
matching piece assured slightly better coupling. All parameters were initially set at
normal values (filament primary at 115 V, the pulse voltage at 15 kV, pulse repetition
rate at 1000 pps with all RF power delivered to the matched load), and the data for
the normal functioning was obtained as shown in Figure 6.7A. Next the oscilla-
tor filament primary voltage was reduced gradually to 0 V from 115 V leading to
occurrence of abnormal current pulse. The data of Figure 6.7B were then recorded
immediately. All the channels show displays similar to the ones described above. In
this case also, the amplitude of the AE signal on Channel 3 of Figure 6.7B decreased
during the abnormal functioning of the magnetron tube relative to the AE signal of
Figure 6.7A obtained with normal parameters.
The experiment was then repeated with the B1025 transducer. Here also, the
abnormal functioning of the magnetron tube was induced by decreasing the oscil-
lator filament primary voltage to 0 V and then increasing it back to 115 V. All other
parameters were held at normal values (the pulse voltage at 15 kV, pulse repetition
rate at 1000 pps with no RF power reflected back to the magnetron from the load).
Once again, the amplitude of AE signal on Channel 3, shown in Figure 6.8B, obtained
under abnormal functioning of the magnetron, showed a decrease in amplitude

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 6.7.
(A) Normal operation. Normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV. (B) Abnormal operation.
Normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV; oscillator filament primary voltage = 115 V but
reduced to 0 V to stress tube. Ch 3: AE signal; Ch B: zoom of current pulse; Ch C: zoom of RF pulse; Ch A:
magnitude of FFT of Ch 3. Preamplifier gain = 20 db and postamplifier gain = 0 db. Power output = 40 W. Ch 3:
vertical sensitivity = 200 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.1 ms/Div. Ch B: vertical sensitivity = 13 V/Div and
horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Ch C: vertical sensitivity = 25 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div.
Observation: zero filament voltage caused abnormal functioning leading to reduction in AE signal amplitude on
Ch 3 of Figure 6.7B (after Joshi et al. [2]).

Figure 6.8.
(A) Normal operation. Normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV. (B) Abnormal operation.
Normal pulse rate = 1000 pps; normal pulse voltage = 15 kV; filament voltage = 115 V but reduced to 0 V and
backed up to 115 V to stress tube. Ch 3: AE signal; Ch B: zoom of current pulse; Ch C: zoom of RF pulse; Ch A:
magnitude of FFT of Ch 3. Preamplifier gain = 20 db and postamplifier gain = 0 db. Power output = 40 W. Ch 3:
vertical sensitivity = 500 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.1 ms/Div. Ch B: vertical sensitivity = 13 V/Div and
horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div. Ch C: vertical sensitivity = 25 mV/Div and horizontal time scale = 0.5 μs/Div.
Observation: cycling filament primary voltage caused abnormal functioning leading to reduction in AE signal
amplitude on Ch 3 of Figure 6.8B.

relative to that of AE signal, shown in Figure 6.8A obtained under functioning

of the tube.
During abnormal functioning of the high-power microwave tube magnetron
caused by these three different stressing mechanisms in turn, the AE signals
consistently showed a substantial decrease in amplitude relative to the AE signal
amplitude recorded during normal functioning of the tube. The phenomenon

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observed was also independent of the AE sensors used to pick up the AE signals
from the anode of the magnetron tube. The details of the mechanism of generat-
ing AE caused by the pulsing of the microwave frequency electromagnetic waves
are under investigation. Currently, the pulsing electromagnetic energy generates
thermal shock waves in the anode that in turn produce acoustic emission stress
waves caused by the elastic properties of its material. The decrease in the pulsating
electromagnetic energy in the abnormal functioning of the tube causes a corre-
sponding decrease in the thermal shock wave energy and a subsequent decrease in
the energy of the acoustic emission signal. Therefore, we can say that the current
research work has proved experimentally the viability of the advanced nondestruc-
tive testing of acoustic emission as a noninvasive passive technique suitable for
monitoring normal and abnormal functioning of high-power magnetrons. The AE
technique does not have the limitations of the microprocessor-based technique dis-
cussed in the previous chapter, and the results are instantly available for any pulse
rate ranging from 100 to 1000 pps. The next step is to extend this AE technique to
the monitoring of other types of high-power microwave tubes such as klystrons and
traveling wave tubes.

Acknowledgements

Figures 6.1 and 6.4–6.7 are reprinted with the permission of the American
Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

References

[1] Joshi NR, Brock DW, Russell SD,

Kasa SD, Garcia GA. Acoustic emission
technology for radar tubes. In: Technical
Report 1810. San Diego, CA: SSC San
Diego; 2000

[2] Joshi NR, Russell SD, Ramirez

AD, Brock DW, Lasher ME. Acoustic
emission technology for performance
monitoring of high power microwave
tubes. Materials Evaluation.
2007;65:411-416

68
Chapter 7

Acoustic Emissions from

Traveling-Wave Tubes

7.1. Traveling-wave tube (TWT)

A TWT is an electron tube used for amplification at microwave frequencies.

They typically operate over the frequency range above 500 MHz. The operation of
a TWT depends on the interaction of a beam of electrons with an electromagnetic
wave propagating on a slow-wave structure. The most common traveling-wave
thermionic device is the linear-beam traveling-wave tube. Because of their very
wide bandwidth, and high power gain, TWTs are extensively used in radar, space
communication, and electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems.
A high-power TWT is a microwave amplifier characterized by high gain, wide
bandwidth, relatively low efficiency, and high operating voltages. The electron
gun assembly for a TWT consists of a cathode with a heating filament, a grid, an
anode, and a collector. It is a form of tetrode tube. In addition, it has a slow-wave
helix structure for amplification of radiofrequency (RF) signals. Electrons leav-
ing the electron gun are accelerated through the helix structure to the collector by
high voltages from the power supply feeding the electron gun of the TWT. Figure
7.1 shows a schematic of a TWT with its power supplies [1]. A TWT uses a series
of permanent magnets to provide a partial focus for the electron beam. The grid,
anode, helix structure, and collector voltages “fine-tune” the beam focus so that a
minimum of electrons strike the helix. Consequently, very few electrons strike the
helix structure. An RF signal passes into the interior of the tube through a ceramic
window or coaxial connector at the RF input and then propagates along the slow-
wave circuit (the helix) with a phase velocity approximately equal to the electron
beam velocity. The beam and the propagating RF signal interact such that energy
is transferred to the RF signal on the helix. An RF signal propagating on the helix
structure causes alternately accelerating and decelerating electric fields along the
helix structure. Electrons passing through the helix will either speed up or slow
down, depending on where they are in the field. Electrons that are accelerated meet
with electrons that are slowed down by the preceding field. Thus, the input RF
signal interacts with the electron beam causing it to bunch up. The bunched elec-
tron beam then generates its own alternating electric fields that interact with the
electrons in the helix, increasing the amplitude of the RF signal on the helix. This
process continues as the beam travels through the helix and the amplitude of the RF
wave associated with the bunched electron increases. The amplified RF signal then
passes out of the interior of the TWT at the RF output ceramic window or coaxial
connector, and the collector then absorbs the spent electron beam. The resulting
heat energy is dissipated in the collector structure and TWT heat sink, which are
cooled by a high-efficiency air blower. The helix has a virtually constant phase
velocity over a wide range of frequencies and has by far the largest bandwidth of
any slow-wave structure. This helps to give TWTs their wide operating bandwidths.
It possesses a high interaction factor between the helix and electron beam and is
thus able to produce a high gain in a short length [2].

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 7.1.
Schematic of traveling-wave tube (tetrode) (after Logimetrics [1]).

7.2. Traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA)

The TWTA (Model A600/L-878A) used in this research work was designed and
manufactured by Logimetrics, Inc. [1]. It was designed to linearly amplify micro-
wave signals over an operating bandwidth of 1 GHz (1–2 GHz). The TWTA unit was
self-contained. It obtained its power from a three-prong wall socket through a cable
rated at 30 A/115 V. The intake air passed through a filter on the front panel. An
exhaust fan was located at the rear of the unit. The front panel had three meters: the
collector current (range: 0–1 DC A), the helix current (range: 0–100 DC mA), and
the forward and reverse RF power output (range: 0–500 W forward and 0–100 W
reverse). The front panel also included an amplifier RF gain control, which was a
24.5 turn potentiometer that gave 0–20 dB of attenuation. The unit was protected
by five overload shutoff mechanisms. The front panel also had a set of five fault
indicator lamps, indicating TWT thermal overload, power supply thermal overload,
cooling air supply fault, VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) cutoff, and helix
current fault. The unit had an AC power main breaker, power-on switch, and a two-
position standby/RF-on switch. A timer inside the unit provided a 3-min wait, after
the main circuit breaker and “power on” switch were turned on. When the standby
indicator lamp turned off, the switch could be changed to its “RF-on” position.

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Figure 7.2.
Input-output characteristics of TWTA (after Logimetrics [1]).

The TWTA used in this work provided more than 200 W of CW (continuous-
wave) output power over its operating range of 1–2 GHz. The unit was protected
by helix current- and voltage-sensing circuitry. An internal RF sensor system was
designed to detect high VSWR and automatically turn the amplifier off while
simultaneously lighting up a VSWR fault lamp on the front panel. The input and
output impedances of the TWTA were 50 ohms, but it could operate safely into an
impedance mismatch that produced a VSWR of 2.5:1. The input and output con-
nectors were “N” type.
The input/output characteristics of a typical TWTA are shown in Figure 7.2. The
small signal region is characterized by linear operation, low intermodulation prod-
ucts, and low harmonic generation. The gain of a TWTA is usually 6–8 dB lower at
saturation than the gain available for small signals. The gain decreases further in the
overdrive region [1].

7.3. Experimental setup

Figure 7.3 shows a schematic drawing of the experimental equipment and con-
nections. In normal operation of the TWTA, the output is connected to a waveguide
or coaxial cable, leading to an antenna. In the laboratory, it was connected through
a high-power directional coupler to a dummy load rated at 50 ohms and 225 W. To
remove heat, the dummy load was equipped with a fan that could be run directly
from the regular power supply. The high-power directional coupler was rated for
200 W over a frequency range of 960–1215 MHz, with a coupling of 30 dB. It had
four “N”-type connectors J1, J2, J3, and J4. The input connector J1 was connected
through an “N”-type coaxial cable (Alpha Wire 92194-RG 214/U) to the output
terminal on the rear panel of the TWTA. The output connector J2 was connected
through an “N”-type coaxial cable to the dummy load. The forward connector J3 was
connected through an “N”-type coaxial cable and then through 20- and 10-dB atten-
uators to the input terminal (50 ohm, 9 MHz–22 GHz) of an HP 8562A Spectrum
Analyzer. The two attenuators had medium power ratings of 20 W and frequency
ranges of DC-11 GHz. They had metal fins to dissipate heat. These two attenuators

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 7.3.
Schematic of AE experimental equipment with TWTA (after Joshi et al. [3]).

are visible in Figure 7.3, in front of the image of the 8562A Spectrum Analyzer, with
the 10-dB attenuator on the left and the 20-dB attenuator on the right.
Figure 7.3 also shows a “T” connector between the two attenuators, which is
connected to an inline crystal detector with an “N”-type connector on one end
and a BNC connector on the other end. It was a silicon microwave diode square law
crystal detector. Its output was connected through a regular BNC cable (Pomona
Electronics 2249-C-48) to Channel 2 of a LeCroy 9354AM 500 MHz Digital
Oscilloscope. The input signal to the TWTA was generated by an HP 8352A RF plug-
in module installed in an HP 8350B Sweep Oscillator. The “N”-type output connec-
tor from the oscillator module was connected through an “N”-type coaxial cable to
the “N”-type input connector on the rear panel of the TWTA [1].
The right cover of the rectangular housing of the TWTA unit was then opened.
The TWT tube enclosed in the metal box was located under the air circulation duct.
An acoustic emission (AE) transducer (R50-Physical Acoustics) was then mounted
on one side of the TWT metal casing using a silicone compound (Mil-S-8660B,
General Electric Company) as a couplant. It was held in position by a padding of
foam inserted between the back of the transducer and the frame of the TWTA
unit. The transducer was then connected to the preamplifier, with the preamplifier

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output connected, through the AE1A postamplifier, to Channel 3 of the LeCroy

Digital Oscilloscope.
The sampling rate of the oscilloscope for a single channel was 2 GS/s, with a
data storage capability of 1 million points. If all four channels were used at the same
time, the sampling rate was 500 Ms/s with 250 kilopoints per channel.
The R50 transducer was a general-purpose transducer useful for monitoring
AE signals over the range of 100–700 kHz. The 2/4/6 preamplifier had three gain
settings of 20, 40, and 60 dB, respectively. It had a high input impedance. It could
produce large output signals up to 20 V peak-to-peak into 50 ohms. The useful
frequency range of the preamplifier was 100 kHz to 1 MHz. The preamplifier was
enclosed in a metalized bag to prevent it from picking up extraneous signals. The
AE postamplifier had a total gain of 41 dB, achievable in 3-dB steps. The input and
output impedances at the terminals “AE INPUT” and “AE OUTPUT” were 50 ohms.
The useful frequency range of the postamplifier was 100 kHz–1 MHz. Other details
about the experimental setup can be obtained from Joshi et al. [3].

7.4. Experimental procedure

The maximum input power recommended for the spectrum analyzer is 0 dBm or
1 mW. The input power from the 83525A RF plug-in could be changed in steps. The
frequency of the CW input signal to the TWTA was initially chosen as 1.2 GHz. The
output of the TWTA unit was connected to the 50-ohm dummy load through the high-
power directional coupler. The RF gain control knob (0- to 20-dB attenuation) on the
front panel was set all the way to the clockwise position, indicating that the full input
power was applied to the TWTA for amplification. The front panel power indicator
had two scales, for the forward and reverse power levels, corresponding to the up and
down positions of the selector switch. The output power was attenuated by 60 dB
(30-dB directional coupler +20-dB attenuator +10-dB attenuator) before it was fed to
the input terminal of the spectrum analyzer.

7.5. Experiments and results

7.5.1 Part I (CW mode with dummy load of 50 ohms)

In this initial test, the aim was to observe acoustic emission activity under
normal operation of the TWTA in the CW mode when its output was connected to
the 50-ohm dummy load through the 30-dB directional coupler. The AE transducer
was mounted on the TWTA near the output terminal of the helix. The normal noise
band on Channel 3 was superimposed onto a mask (shown in Figure 7.4, Zoom
Trace D) with sufficient width to avoid triggering on the noise signal. The trigger
level was chosen to be slightly below the upper boundary of the mask. The trigger
position was set to two divisions to the right of zero on the horizontal scale. If all
the points of the signal remained within the mask, there was no triggering of the
oscilloscope to dump its screen display onto the disc. This arrangement ensured the
recording of AE burst signals only and avoided noise signals. To avoid any damage
to the oscilloscope screen caused by long display times, the mask on the Zoom Trace
D was set and its display was then turned off during prolonged operation of the
equipment. Nine AE events were recorded on the disc in 3 hours. It was expected
that changes would be seen in the detected RF level on Channel 2 whenever AE sig-
nals were produced, because of the irregular functioning of the TWTA. Figure 7.4
shows a typical AE signal on Channel 3, with the voltage from the RF level detector

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 7.4.
AE signal from CW TWTA. Ch 3: Sporadic AE signal. Ch 2: Detected RF signal at −22 mV. Waveguide
terminated with 50 ohms. Chs 2 and 3: Horizontal scale = 0.1 ms/div. Ch 2: Vertical sensitivity = 10 mV/div.
Ch 3: Vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div (after Joshi et al. [3]).

into Channel 2 at −22 mV. Instead, no appreciable changes were detected in the AE
signal or in the RF level during the 3 hours.

7.5.2 Part II (CW mode with no load-all power reflected back)

7.5.2.1 Effects of closing the front air inlet

The objective of this second test was to stress the TWTA’s operation by forc-
ing it to operate at higher temperatures, which in turn might produce irregular
RF-amplified pulses and corresponding changes in the AE signals. The front
panel air inlet was covered tightly with aluminum foil sealed around its edges.
The dummy load at the RF output was disconnected and replaced with a Teflon
(insulator) plug between the central pin and the surrounding metal cylinder of the
“N”-type connector. This was done to reflect the RF power back into the TWTA
to stress the tube. The TWTA was then put back into operation, and AE signals
were received at intervals. After 8 hours, the TWTA shut itself off due to thermal
overload. Compared to the first test, there was no change in the detected RF level
on Channel 2. Also, no changes in AE signals on Channel 3 were detected during the
operation of the tube at higher temperatures.

7.5.2.2 Effects of closing the front air inlet and the rear air exhaust

The next step in trying to induce irregular functioning of the TWTA was to
close both the front panel air inlet and rear panel air outlet with aluminum foil
sealed at the edges. Additionally, all power was reflected back, with a Teflon plug
replacing the dummy load. As before, the input RF power was 13 dBm. The forward
RF output power was 120 W, and the reverse power was greater than 100 W. The
unit shut off in 10 min due to the thermal overload. The copper plate, mounted
onto the TWT, and acting as its heat sink, became very hot. It had a heat sensor
that then signaled the unit to turn off. Temperature measurements were taken by a
thermocouple (Omega Engineering Corporation) pressed against the copper plate
heat sink. The temperature rose to 83°C in 9 min. At this stage, it was decided to free
the air outlet on the rear panel of the unit. In the repeated experiment with both
air passages blocked, the temperature rose to 104°C in 12 min. However, all these

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tests did not produce any irregular RF output pulses and corresponding signature
AE signals. At this stage, the left side panel and the top side panel were opened. The
five sensors protecting the unit were identified. They were (1) thermal sensor, (2)
air flow sensor, (3) power supply sensor, (4) VSWR overload sensor, and (5) helix
current sensor.

7.5.2.3 Effects of different locations of the AE sensor

The next step was to find out whether the position of the AE transducer could
make any difference in receiving the AE signals. The transducer was mounted on
the metal coaxial cable that ran from the helix output terminal to the output termi-
nal on the rear panel. The new position of the transducer made no difference on the
recorded AE activity. The AE activity was sporadic, on-and-off, and only appeared
intermittently. A more serious way to stress the unit was to disconnect the thermal
sensor and close both the air inlet and air exhaust outlet. However, it was decided
not to follow that course, but instead to feed a pulsed RF input signal to the TWTA
in place of the CW signal and observe the effects.

7.5.3 Part III (pulse mode with no load: all power reflected back)

In this portion of the experiment, the RF input frequency was initially chosen
as 1.4770 GHz. The frequency span (Δf) was set to zero. The sweep was triggered
from the 60-Hz power line. The “RF on” time was set for 2 s. The “RF off ”’ time was
fixed internally at about 1 s. On the spectrum analyzer display screen, the start and
stop frequencies were set to 1 and 2 GHz. The resolution and video bandwidths were
both set to 300 kHz. The sweep time was set to 50 ms. The RF plug-in module, gen-
erating the input signal, was set for a power level of 13.5 dBm. The ALC (automatic
level control) mode was set to the internal sensor. The TWTA was then turned on.
After a few minutes, the power meter on the TWTA front panel was showing rises
and falls in the output power in sync with the rises and falls of the RF signal on the
spectrum analyzer screen.
The input frequency was then varied, and the maximum power output changed
with changes in the input frequency. By gradually changing the input frequency, the
output power peaked at around 1.5040 GHz. The output power at this frequency
was 140 W. As mentioned earlier, the AE transducer was mounted on the TWT tube
near the helix output terminal. The AE transducer preamplifier and postamplifier
gains were 40 and 21 dB, respectively. With this setup, AE signals were generated
in step with the oscillating output power of the TWTA. They are not sporadic as
before.
Note: In Figure 7.6, the AE signal appears compressed on the sixth vertical
division between the left lower ON (2 s) segment and right upper OFF (0.7 s)
segment of RF.
This result may be due to the pulsed RF power producing intermittent heating.
The subsequent contraction during the interpulse cooling period could be the cause
of the observed AE energy. Figure 7.5 shows the AE signal on Channel 3 gener-
ated at the transition from the “RF on” state to the “RF off ” state as displayed on
Channel 2. The AE signal appears as a very narrow vertical line, close to the sixth
vertical division, due to the choice of a horizontal time scale suited to show “RF on”
and “RF off ” segments, which are on a longer time scale. The “RF on” and “RF off ”
segments are inverted in Channel 2 of the figure, due to the negative voltage output
from the pulses.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 7.5.
AE signal from pulsed TWTA. Ch 3: Periodic AE signal in sync with pulsing TWTA on the sixth vertical
division. Ch 2: Detected pulsed RF signal. Chs 2 and 3: Horizontal scale = 0.2 s/div. Ch 2: Vertical
sensitivity = 10 mV/div. Ch 3: Vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div (after Joshi et al. [3]).

Figure 7.6.
(A) AE signal from pulsating RF input to TWT-A. Ch2: Pulsating RF voltage at −22 mV. level. Zoom trace
D: Mask in action. Ch 3: AE signal from pulsating input. Zoom trace B: Zoom of Ch 2. Ch 3: Time scale = 0.5
ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 2: Time scale = 0.5 ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 10 mV/
div. RF input power 13.5 dBm at frequency = 1.5041 GHz and RF output power ( forward) = 140 W and RF
output (reversed) = 100 W. No matching load-all RF power was reflected back. (B) AE signal from pulsating
RF input to TWT-A. Ch2: RF voltage is changing its value from that of Figure 7.6A. Zoom trace D: Mask
in action. Ch 3: AE signal from pulsating input. Zoom trace B: Zoom of Ch 2. Ch 3: Time scale = 0.5 ms/div
and vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 2: Time scale = 0.5 ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 10 mV/div. RF
input power 13.5 dBm at frequency = 1.5041 GHz and RF output power ( forward) = 140 W and RF output
(reversed) = 100 W. No matching load-all RF power was reflected back (after Joshi et al. [3]).

7.5.3.1 Effects of RF input duty cycle on AE activity

The next part of the test series was to examine the effect of duty cycle of the RF
pulses on the generation of AE signals. The “RF on” interval was increased from 2 to
20 s in 1-s increments. The “RF off” interval was fixed internally at about 1 s. In every
instance, AE activity was observed in step with the changing RF output. The “RF on”
interval was then reduced to 1 s, almost equal to the “RF off” interval. The AE signals
were still generated in step with the changing RF output. The “RF on” interval was
then further reduced to less than 1 s, and the AE activity diminished rapidly with
further decreases in the “RF on” time. It appeared that the “RF on” interval had to be
greater than the “RF off” interval to generate AE activity. It was decided, therefore, to

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Figure 7.7.
TWT-A in pulsating mode as opposed to CW mode. Ch 3: AE signal on the second vertical division
(compressed) in sync with pulsating TWT-A. Ch 2: Detected RF (inverted) at 35 mV. level. The top segment
is RF OFF (0.7 s) and the lower half is the RF ON segment. Noise band on the central line is 15 mV. Ch
3: Time scale = 0.1 s/div and vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 2: Time scale =0.1 s/div and vertical
sensitivity = 10 mV/div (after Joshi et al. [3]).

set the “RF on” interval to 2 s for further testing. Figure 7.6A and B shows AE signals
generated with a pulse rate of 20 ppm. In Figure 7.6B, the detected RF level is at the
end of a pulse and is in the process of decreasing its value from that in Figure 7.6A.
For each pulse, the “RF-on” interval was 2 s and the “RF off” interval was 1 s. In this
test, all RF power was reflected back since the dummy load was replaced with the
Teflon plug.
Next, to determine the “RF off ” interval precisely, the horizontal time scale was
changed and the screen displays were saved on the disc. In Figure 7.7, a horizontal
time scale of 0.1 s/div was used. It was then observed that the “RF off ” interval was
0.7 s (Channel 2), slightly less than the assumed value of 1 s. The “RF off ” interval
was internally fixed and, hence, could not be changed. The AE signal from Channel
3 appears on the second vertical line.

7.5.3.2 Effects of sudden “cutoff ” of the filament power on the performance

of the TWTA

As mentioned before, the purpose of this research project was to examine

nondestructively the irregular performance of the TWTA. As described earlier,
the TWTA unit used in the project was protected by five overload detection
sensors. Consequently, one has to use novel methods to induce irregular per-
formance of the unit. We decided to suddenly cut off the power to the cathode
heater filament and observe its effect on the performance of the tube. Since the
cathode heater filament was at a high negative voltage of about −2000 V with
respect to the collector, high-voltage protection equipment was needed dur-
ing the sudden disconnection of the power supply to the filament. As the tube
rapidly cooled off, many AE signals were generated in succession over a time
interval of about 1 min before all the acoustic emissions stopped as the for-
ward power output dropped rapidly from 140 to 0 W. Since it took 15 s for the
oscilloscope to store the screen display onto its disc, it was impossible to save
all of the AE signals on the floppy disc, as they were generated during the rapid
cool-off period. However, a couple of screen displays were stored automati-
cally during this interval. The AE signals obtained during this cathode cooling
experiment had relatively small amplitudes and longer ringing time.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

7.5.3.3 Effect of cold start

There was a standby time of 3 min between setting the switch to the “power on”
position and being able to engage it to the “RF on” position. After closing both of
the inlet and outlet windows for the air, the standby time was measured. It turned
out to be the same as before at about 3 min. Again, in an attempt to produce irregu-
larities in the functioning of the unit, the timing circuit governing the standby
interval was bypassed by changing the circuitry. The input RF power was set at
13.5 dBm, as before. The RF input power was pulsed with an “RF on” interval of
2 s. No load was connected so that all of the RF power was reflected back. The main
circuit breaker switch, the “power-on” switch, and the “RF on” switch were turned
on in succession to produce a cold-start condition. No damage was done to the tube.
The only observable effect of the cold start was a short delay in receiving AE sig-
nals, which were again in step with the pulsed RF power. The AE signals generated
initially were not strong. After about 10 min, strong AE signals started appearing,
which were again in step with the pulsed RF input and output.

7.5.4 Part IV (pulsed mode with 50-ohm dummy load)

In this segment of the project, a dummy load of 50 ohms was connected to the
output cable of the TWTA, and the RF input to TWTA was set to the CW mode as in
Part I of the experiment. Again, the RF input power was 13.5 dBm. The gain setting
was set to the fully clockwise position, giving the maximum gain. There was no AE
activity observed, even after half an hour. Then, the RF input signal was changed
from the CW mode to the pulsed mode. The dummy load remained connected.
Within a few minutes, AE signals were observed (Figure 7.7). They were in step
with the pulsed RF output.

7.6. TWT amplifier operation conclusions

Operation in the CW mode did not produce AE activity in the two cases where
the output cable of the TWTA unit was connected to the dummy load of 50 ohms
(matched load) and then to the Teflon plug (mismatched load), which caused the
RF power to be reflected back.

Figure 7.8.
AE signal from pulsating TWT-A input. Ch 3: Expanded AE signal. Zoom trace B of Ch 2: Detected RF at
level of about 40 mV. Ch 3: Time scale = 0.1 ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Zoom trace B of Ch 2:
Time scale = 0.1 ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 20 mV/div (after Joshi et al. [3]).

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The pulsed RF input power generated AE activity, irrespective of the termina-

tion (matched or mismatched load) to the output cable.
This AE activity was generated as long as the “RF on” interval in the pulsed RF
input power was longer than the “RF off ” interval. AE signals were generated at
the transition from the “RF on” segment to the “RF off ” segment of the output RF
pulse. The cold-start experiment showed that the strength of AE signals was low at
the beginning but then picked up in intensity after the unit had been in operation
with pulsed input power for about 10 min.
The simulated cold cathode experiment showed that rapid changes in the fila-
ment power supply voltage caused successive outputs of AE activity that dropped
off to zero with the diminishing RF power output of the TWTA.
Overheating of the unit did not produce any new effects in AE activity because
the thermal overload sensor protected the unit.
The maximum available leveled output from the 83525A RF plug-in, mounted
in the 8350B sweep oscillator, was 17.5 dBm. However, the TWTA was shut off by its
VSWR overload sensor when the input power exceeded 14 dBm.
The TWTA used in this project was designed for CW mode operation. By
operating it in the pulsed mode, AE activity was produced in step with the chang-
ing RF input power. During operation in the CW mode whenever there was a
change (increase or decrease) in the RF input power, AE activity was generated. In
short, changes in the RF output power due either to irregular changes or to regular
changes in the RF input power caused AE signals to appear. These experimental
observations definitely indicate that AE activity will be produced whenever there is
a change in the RF output power of the unit, irrespective of the cause of the change,
either external to the unit (RF input power) or internal to the unit (degradation of
the tube performance). It can safely be said that acoustic emission activity can be
used as a nondestructive testing tool for in situ performance monitoring of normal
and abnormal functioning of high-power microwave TWT amplifiers.

Acknowledgements

Figures 7.3–7.8 are reprinted with the permission of the American Society for
Nondestructive Testing, Inc.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

References

[1] Logimetrics. Traveling Wave Tube

Amplifier (TWTA). In: Technical
Manual, ModelA600//L-878A. Bohemia,
NY, U.S.A.: Logimetrics, Inc; March
1999

[2] Hughes Aircraft Company. TWT

and TWTA Handbook. Torrance, CA:
Hughes Aircraft Company, Electron
Dynamics Division; 1979

[3] Joshi NR, Brock DW, Russell SD,

Lasher ME, Kasa SD. Built-in test for
high-power microwave tubes using
acoustic emission technology. In:
Technical Note 1816. SSC San Diego;
2001

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Chapter 8

Acoustic Emissions from Klystrons

8.1. What is a klystron?

The usefulness of the advanced nondestructive emissions (NDEs) technique of

acoustic emission (AE) was proven in the performance monitoring of magnetrons
and traveling wave tubes (TWTs). The next area of interest was the application of
AE technology to the operation of klystrons. High-power microwave tubes may
be divided into two general categories: crossed-field devices, characterized by
orthogonal electric and magnetic fields, and linear-beam devices, having a con-
tinuous electron beam traversing an interaction region. Crossed-field devices are
typified by magnetrons and crossed-field amplifiers, while linear devices include
cavity klystrons, TWTs, twystrons, and extended interaction oscillators. Klystrons
are available as both oscillators and amplifiers. They are inherently narrowband
devices, although some have a degree of tunability. They have high gain and are
capable of either pulsed or continuous wave (CW) operation at high peak and aver-
age power levels [1].
Klystrons have three sections: the electron gun and beam system, RF circuit, and
beam collector system. Klystron radio-frequency (RF) circuits are fairly simple, at
least when compared with traveling wave tube circuits. The RF circuit comprises
a number of resonant cavities, typically between three and six. The electron beam
passes axially through the centers of the cavities. A high voltage is applied between
the cathode and collector. Electrons emitted from the cathode are accelerated
through the long tube. At the tube’s mouth, and throughout the tube’s length, the
electron beam is focused by an external magnetic field provided by sets of flat coils
concentric with the axis of the tube. Each of the resonant cavities can be tuned
by symmetrically altering its physical dimensions mechanically. The first cavity
is excited by an externally generated low-level RF signal introduced by a coupling
loop in the cavity [2].
The basis of klystron operation is the very common phenomenon that reduces
the efficiency of conventional electronic tubes, which is the transit time. The
field created across the beam by the cavity’s oscillating electric field causes the
electrons to either accelerate or slow down, depending upon the time when they
pass through the cavity. The beam energy is therefore velocity modulated in
phase with the oscillations of the first cavity. This very-high-frequency bunching
(density modulation) is accentuated by the subsequent cavities that are tuned to
the input frequency. The cavities are caused to resonate by the electric field of
the bunched electron beam passing through their interaction space. As the beam
progresses through the drift tube, along the axis of the cavities, through these
successive interaction spaces, the amplitude of the beam bunching continues to
grow and becomes much greater in magnitude than the amplitude caused by the
original modulating input. At the final cavity, whose excitation is a few orders of
magnitude greater than that in the first cavity, the RF output power is extracted,
again by a coupling loop. The RF energy then leaves the klystron, through a
coaxial cable or waveguide. Power gains of up to 40 dB are possible at typical
radar frequencies. But the klystron’s chief value as a radar transmitter is its ability
to sustain high mean power levels in its amplifier role [3].

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Some detuning of the intermediate cavities could increase the power output. The
bandwidth of a klystron can be increased by loading its intermediate cavities, but
the overall gain is reduced in the process. As in the case of a vacuum tube amplifier
with a single tuned circuit in its output, the gain-bandwidth product tends to remain
constant. Stagger tuning the intermediate cavities (tuning them slightly above and
slightly below the input cavity frequency), along with loading the cavities to broaden
their response, will give the klystron amplifier a broader bandwidth but with
reduced power gain. To achieve a very wide bandwidth, a slow wave structure must
be used. This would require a TWT design. The TWT has an inherently large band-
width, but it cannot produce the high peak power outputs that multicavity klystrons
can achieve. When pulsed, it is possible to obtain peak powers of between 0.5 and
20 MW at efficiencies of over 40% at frequencies near 3 GHz [4]. Klystrons are
commonly used at ultra-high frequencies in CW mode for television transmission at
power outputs of up to 60 kW. Continuous wave use implies that the mean and peak
outputs are nearly the same. In short, the high-power pulsed klystron is an amplifier
that is characterized by high gain, high peak power, and good efficiency. It has rela-
tively narrow bandwidths and requires relatively high voltages. Its large physical size
and the associated modulators and x-ray shielding have limited its applications [5].

8.2. Experiments on the first klystron unit

The unit used in this effort was a five-cavity klystron amplifier. The pulse
repetition frequency (PRF) was set at 213 pps. Pulses were generated in pairs. The
pulse width of the first pulse was 2 μs and that of the second pulse was 125 μs.
The separation between two pulses was 125 μs. The RF frequency of the first pulse
was 894.33 MHz. The second pulse was a chirp signal with a center frequency
of 894.33 MHz and a variation of ±1/2 MHz, giving a chirp range of 1 MHz. The
klystron had 48 channels between 851 and 942 MHz. The low band consisted of
channels 1–16, the middle band consisted of channels 17–32, and the high band con-
sisted of channels 33–48. The klystron was connected to the dummy load through a
waveguide. The dummy load was cooled by circulating water. In normal operation,
the cathode was biased at −42 kV for the grounded collector.

8.3. Experimental setup

The same AE analysis technology used on CFAs in Chapter 6 and on TWTs in

Chapter 7 was applied to a klystron tube. This AE system included the general purpose
R50 transducer, pre-amplifier, and post-amplifier, all described earlier. Figure 8.1 shows
the different locations on the klystron unit, where the AE transducer was attached to
pick up emissions generated during klystron operation. The pre-amplifier was wrapped
in a bag of aluminum foil to prevent it from picking up extraneous signals. Appropriate
coaxial cables (RG 223 U) were used for all connections. The gains of the pre-amplifier
and post-amplifier were set to 40 and 21 dB, respectively. As before, a LeCroy 9354 AM
500-MHz digital oscilloscope was used to observe the AE signals generated and to
record them on a disc, if necessary. Figure 8.2 shows schematic setup for the klystron.
Channel 1 of the oscilloscope was connected to the input (RF drive) of the klystron
amplifier. Channel 2 of the oscilloscope had a bayonet neill-concelman (BNE)-
connector with one end connected to the beam current sensor connector (5 A/V) of the
klystron unit and the other end to the channel 4 through a combination of a high-pass
filter (cutoff, 1.67 MHz), detector, low-pass filter (cutoff, 15 MHz), and threshold
amplifier. The threshold amplifier has its own amplifier.

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Figure 8.1.
Schematic diagram of AE transducer locations on the klystron radar unit (after Joshi et al. [7]).

Figure 8.2.
Schematic diagram of experimental setup for AE testing of klystron (after Joshi et al. [7]).

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

8.4. Experimental results from the first klystron

8.4.1 Effect of different locations of AE sensor

When all the parameters, such as the gains of the two AE amplifiers and the
transducer couplings, were held constant, the strength of the AE signal differed
from location to location during normal operating conditions of the klystron unit.
The AE signals received from Location 5 on the waveguide (Figure 8.1) and from
Location 3 on the focusing coils inside the cabinet of the klystron unit were stronger
than those received from Location 1 on the low-pass filter.

8.4.2 Effect of increased peak power output

The klystron unit was well protected by various sensors to avoid abnormal
variations of the operating parameters. As a result, the only way to stress the
klystron unit was to change its peak power output. So, it was decided to stress the
unit by changing this single available parameter. The AE transducer was coupled
to Location 3 (Figure 8.1) on the focusing coils of the klystron unit. Pulses with a
frequency of 851 MHz were sent to the RF input connector of the klystron ampli-
fier. The pulse repetition rate was set to 213 pps, with the pulses sent in pairs in
rapid succession. The time interval between successive pairs of pulses was 4.69 ms.
Figure 8.3A shows four separate signals on Zoom Trace A, which is the averaged
acoustic AE signal from Channel 3. They corresponded with rises and falls of signals
from the beam current sensor connected to Channel 2 of the oscilloscope. Channel
1 shows an approximately −50-mV output from the RF detector of two drive pulses
fed into the input. The first narrow pulse, 2-μs wide, can be seen around the second
vertical division. The second signal, 125-μs wide, is located immediately beyond
the fifth vertical division. These two pulses are separated by an interval of 150 μs.
Figure 8.3B shows the beam current for two pairs of pulses on Channel 2, separated

Figure 8.3.
(a) Normal operation of klystron at frequency = 851 MHz. Ch 1: detected RF drive signals (−50 mV). These
are klystron input signals. First-2 μs wide and second-125 μs wide separated by 150 μs. Ch 2: corresponding
beam current pulses. Zoom Trace A: averaged AE signals from Ch 3 in sync with pulsing klystron. Ch 4:
output of threshold amplifier (none). Time scale = 50 μs/div for Ch 1, 2, 4 and A. (b) Normal operation at 213
pulses per second. Ch 1: two pairs of input pulses are separated by 4.69 ms. Ch 2: beam current pulses. Zoom
Trace A: averaged AE signals from Ch 3 in sync with pulsing klystron. Ch 4: output of threshold amplifier.
Y-axis = 50 mV/div for Ch 1 and A for both Figure 8.4A and B. Y-axis = 0.50 V/div for Ch 2 and = 10 V/div for
Ch A for both Figure 8.4A and B.

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by 4.7 ms (4.7 divisions × 1 ms per division), which is the same time separation as
for the RF drive signals on Channel 1.
Zoom Trace A, in Figure 8.3A and B, shows the average of the AE signals from
Channel 3 that were generated by the klystron during pulsed operation. No AE signals
appeared between the beam current pulses. Channel 4, in Figures 8.4A and B, shows
the output of the threshold amplifier. The threshold amplifier produced no output
signal during normal operation of the klystron.
After observing that Location 3 was giving strong AE signals, the transducer
was relocated to Location 4 on the waveguide. In Figure 8.4A, Channel 3 shows
the resulting AE signal. As in Figure 8.3A and B, Channel 1 shows the RF drive
signal and Channel 2 shows the beam current sensor signal. Figure 8.4A shows
the picture when the klystron was operated under normal conditions. The normal
operating range for the beam current was 0.9–1 A. The peak power output was
about 280 kW. Next, to stress the klystron unit, the output power was increased
by increasing the beam current slowly to the level of 1.1 A. At this point, an
abnormal current pulse suddenly appeared and the previously described thresh-
old amplifier, on the output of the AE amplifier, responded by putting out a TTL
high-level output on Channel 4, as shown in Figure 8.4B. Channel 2 showed
an abnormal current pulse, with a significantly increased current amplitude,
indicating a probable arc. This abnormal performance led to a decrease in the
AE response (Channel 3), as expected. In Figure 8.4A and B, the vertical and
horizontal sensitivities on Channels 1 and 2 are the same. However, the vertical
sensitivity on Channel 3 was switched from 20 mV/div in Figure 8.4A to
50 mV/div in Figure 8.4B.
Even though the plots of AE signals in Channel 3 of Figure 8.4A and B are on
different scales, a comparison between them shows that the AE signal amplitude in
Channel 3 of Figure 8.4B, under abnormal operation, is much smaller than the one from
Figure 8.4A. Therefore, these results experimentally show that the AE signal amplitudes

Figure 8.4.
(a) Normal klystron operation. Ch 1: one pair of RF drive pulses. Ch 2: normal klystron beam current
pulses. Ch 3: Strong AE signal during normal operation. Vertical sensitivity = 20 mV/div. Ch 1: vertical
sensitivity = 50 mV/div for both figures. Ch 2: vertical sensitivity = 0.50 V/div for both Figures. (b) Abnormal
klystron operation. Ch 1: RF drive signals are not shown. Ch 2: abnormal klystron beam current pulse caused
by stressing klystron. Ch 3: weak AE signal due to abnormal operation. Vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 4:
vertical sensitivity = 10 V/div. Ch 4: output from threshold amplifier as a result of faulty klystron pulse. Time
scale = 50 μs/div on all four channels for both A and B (after Joshi et al. [7]).

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

decreased during abnormal performance of the klystron unit and are similar to the
results from the earlier tests on the magnetron and TWT amplifiers (TWTAs).

8.5. Experiments on a second klystron unit

With the encouraging results from the acoustic emission nondestructive test-
ing technique for normal and abnormal operation of the first klystron unit, the
next step was to repeat the experiments on a second klystron unit from a different
location with different operating parameters. This second klystron was installed in
a radar set that had a maximum operating range of 256 nmi. The radar system had
two basic modes of operation, a long-range mode and anti-chaff mode. In these
tests, the radar was operated in the long-range mode all the time. The transmitter
of the system amplifies a 2-mW RF input drive signal from the receiver to a 9.8-kW
average power level. This amplification was performed in two stages: through a
driver and through the power klystron. After amplification, the RF energy from the
klystron was routed to the antenna through either a coaxial cable or waveguide. The
RF drive power rating to the klystron was 30 W. The klystron’s filament required a
voltage of 8 V. Its focusing coil required a current of 15 A. The frequency band used
for these tests was the midband, which extended from 881.333 to 910.222 MHz. In
addition to the fixed frequency mode, the radar also operates in the frequency agile
mode. The fixed frequency used during this work was 902.999 MHz [5].

8.6. Experimental setup for the second klystron

The experimental equipment and arrangement was similar to that used with
the first klystron unit (Figure 8.2). Figure 8.5A and B are photos of the equipment
arranged near the klystron radar unit. The radar operated in the long pulse mode.
The pulse repetition frequency (PRF) was set to 254.4 Hz, with a pulse repetition
period of 3.93 ms and duty cycle of 0.0377. The peak RF power was 9.04 kW or
69.6 dBm. The short pulse width was 10 μs, and the long pulse width was 137.5 μs.
The pulse separation was 160 μs. For these tests, the RF signal was fed to a dummy
load at the end of the waveguide.

8.7. Experimental results from the second klystron

8.7.1 Collection of data during normal operation

Figure 8.6 identifies various locations at which the AE transducer was mounted
to examine AE signal patterns generated by the RF pulse energy traveling through
the waveguide. As in the previous tests, AE transducer R80 was used to pick up AE
signals. As before, its output was connected through a pre-amplifier and post-
amplifier, with the respective gains of 40 and 21 dB to Channel 3 of the oscillo-
scope. Connected to Channel 2 of the oscilloscope was a BNC T-connector with one
side connected to the output of the klystron’s current sensor (5A/V) and the other
side to the previously described high pass filter. The output of the high-pass filter
was connected to a detector, with the output of the detector going to the previously
described low-pass filter. The output of the low-pass filter was connected to the
previously described threshold amplifier with an output connected to Channel 4 of
the oscilloscope. Zoom Trace C of the oscilloscope was used to show the averaged
AE signal from Channel 3.

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Figure 8.5.
(a) AE experimental setup (on left) with second klystron unit. The AE transducer is mounted on the low-pass
filter box. (b) AE experimental setup for the second klystron unit. To the left of the LeCroy oscilloscope are the
power supply and threshold amplifier. On top of the oscilloscope is the AE post amplifier.

8.7.2 Effect of different locations of AE sensor

To make sure that the equipment was not picking up extraneous signals from
the air, the transducer was held in the air for a time, while the klystron current
pulses were turned on. Channel C of the oscilloscope received no AE signal. The AE
transducer was then coupled with a viscous couplant to the top of the low-pass filter
at Location 4.
An AE signal in step with the current pulses was recorded on Channel C (aver-
aged signal from Channel 3), as shown in Figure 8.7A. Channel 2 shows three
pairs of klystron beam current pulses separated by about 3.93 ms. The horizontal
time scale on Channel 2 was 1 ms/div. Acoustic emission activity of the burst type
appeared on Channel C in step with the beam current pulses.

8.7.3 Data collection during stressed operation of klystron

For this test, the experimental setup was similar to the one used for the experi-
ments with the first klystron unit. The combined gain of the AE pre-amplifier and

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Figure 8.6.
Schematic diagram of AE transducer locations on the second klystron unit (after Joshi et al. [7]).

the post-amplifier was 61 dB, as before. The AE transducer was mounted on the
coaxial cable at Location 2 (Figure 8.6).
At Location 8 on the in-line isolator in the waveguide, the AE activity recorded
was the strongest for any of the locations, as seen in Figure 8.8B. The vertical
sensitivity on Channel C was 50 mV/div in Figure 8.8A, while it was 0.50 V/div on
Channel C of Figure 8.8B. During the collection of data from different locations
on the waveguide, the gains on both AE amplifiers were held constant, so that the
AE signal data from different locations could be compared. The AE transducer

Figure 8.7.
(a) Klystron normal operation. Ch 2: normal current pulses in pairs. Trace C: AE signals from Location
4 on low-pass filter box. Trace C vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. (b) Normal operation. Ch 2: normal
current pulses. Trace C: strong AE signals at Location 8 on isolator section of waveguide. Trace C vertical
sensitivity = 0.50 V/div. Zoom Trace C showing the average AE signal from Ch 3 in both figures. Ch 2: vertical
sensitivity = 2 V/div for both figures. Zoom Trace C: time scale: 1 ms/div for both figures (after Joshi et al. [7]).

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Figure 8.8.
(a) Normal klystron operation. Ch 2: normal current pulses—3 pairs. Ch 2: time scale = 1 ms/div. Vertical
sensitivity =2 V/div on Ch 2 for both figures. Zoom Trace C: averaged AE signal from Ch 3. Trace C: time
scale = 1 ms/div. Vertical sensitivity = 200 mV/div. (b) Abnormal operation. Ch 2: abnormal pulse-one
pair. Ch 2: time scale = 0.5 ms/div. Ch 3: unaveraged AE signal. Ch 3: time scale = 0.5 ms/div. Vertical
sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 4: output of threshold amplifier was triggered by abnormal current pulse. Ch 4;
time scale =0.5 ms/div and vertical sensitivity = 10 v/div (after Joshi et al. [7]).

was coupled carefully at each new location to make sure that no air bubbles were
trapped in the couplant layer.
The beam current was slightly less than 1 A. AE activity was recorded during
normal operation as shown in Figure 8.8A. Channel 2 shows the beam current
pulses, and Channel C shows the averaged AE signal. Next, the high voltage was
gradually increased beyond the normal value of 40 kV. The current showed a slight
increase beyond 1 A, when a TTL high-level output from the threshold amplifier
was recorded on Channel 4, as seen in Figure 8.8B. Channel 3 shows the recorded
AE signal from abnormal operation before averaging. An averaging operation was
then performed to remove noise from the signal. The vertical sensitivity was set at
200 mV/div on Channel C in Figure 8.8A (normal operation), while it was set at
50 mV/div on Channel 3 in Figure 8.8B (abnormal operation). The comparison of
strengths of two AE signals shows that during abnormal operation, the strength of
AE signal decreased, provided all other parameters were kept unchanged.
Figure 8.9A shows an abnormal beam current pulse from Channel 2. The hori-
zontal time scale was expanded to 0.5 from 1 ms/div. Signals from other channels
were not displayed. In Figure 8.9B, the time scale was further expanded to 50 μs/
div on Zoom Trace A of Channel 2 to see the fine structure of the abnormal pulse.
In this pair of consecutive pulses, the first pulse is 10 μs wide, as seen just before the
first vertical line. The second pulse started just before the fourth vertical line. The
separation between these consecutive pulses was 160 μs, as expected. The second
pulse, of 137.5 μs width, developed a dip in its structure, as can be seen on the fifth
vertical line. This abnormal structure in the second beam current pulse caused the
threshold amplifier to generate a high-level TTL output. Only the TTL output from
Channel 4 is shown in Figure 8.10A, with a horizontal scale of 0.5 ms/div. Figure
8.10B shows the same TTL output with an expanded horizontal scale of 4 μs/div
on Zoom Trace A of Channel 4 from Figure 8.10A. A normal or good pulse will not
trigger the threshold amplifier, which was connected to Channel 4. It takes its input

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 8.9.
(a) Abnormal current pulse. One pair on Ch 2. Ch 2: time scale = 0.5 ms/div. Vertical sensitivity = 2 V/div.
(b) Expanded view is on Zoom Trace A of Ch 2. Trace A: time scale =50 μs/div. Vertical sensitivity = 2 V/
div. Width of first pulse in the pair =10 μs and that of second pulse = 137.5 μs. Separation of pulses in the
pair = 160 μs. The second pulse is distorted (after Joshi et al. [7]).

Figure 8.10.
(a) Output from threshold. Amplifier triggered by abnormal pulse. Ch 4: time scale = 0.5 ms/div. Vertical
sensitivity = 0.5 V/div. (b) Expanded view on Zoom Trace A of Ch 4. Trace A: time scale = 5 μs/div. Vertical
sensitivity = 0.5 V/div (after Joshi et al. [6]).

from Channel 2 (of the klystron beam current pulses) through the high-pass filter,
detector, and low-pass filter. An abnormal pulse produced by stressing the klystron
tube beyond its normal operating range has high-frequency components. The
high-pass filter (beyond 1.6 MHz) stops regular pulses but allows higher-frequency
components of abnormal pulses to go through. The detector then detects these
higher frequency components above 1.6 MHz and passes its output to the low-pass
filter (below 15 MHz), which cleans up the signal. The output of the low-pass
filter was then passed to the threshold amplifier, which responded by generating
a high-level TTL output. Further details on the electronic circuits for detection of
abnormal pulses can be obtained from Joshi et al. [6].

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8.8. Conclusions from magnetron, TWTA, and klystron tests

The advanced nondestructive technique of acoustic emission sensing was

applied for the first time in this research project to the performance monitoring of
four high-power microwave tubes: a magnetron, a traveling wave tube amplifier,
and two klystron amplifiers. In all four cases, strong “burst-type” acoustic emis-
sions were generated during pulsed operation of the tubes. The TWTA, when oper-
ated in the CW mode, generated only sporadic signals that could not be associated
with any definite source mechanisms. Irregular pulses generated by the magnetron
were clearly distinguished from regular pulses using different features of their
associated AE patterns. Cold cathode operation of a TWTA-generated AE activity
bursts in quick succession. Positioning the AE transducer at different locations on
the waveguides of the klystron units produced remarkably different AE patterns. In
all the experiments with different high-power microwave tubes, abnormal opera-
tion of the tubes showed a decrease in the strength of their AE emissions when
compared with AE emissions from tube operating under normal conditions. These
investigations, using only one AE sensor to monitor in situ performance of high-
power microwave tubes, have certainly proven AE emission sensing to be a great
advancement over the currently available data collection systems that use as many
as 11 electrical sensors to measure different currents and voltages of tubes.

Acknowledgements

Figures 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7–8.10 are printed with the permission of American
Society for Nondestructive Testing Inc.

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

References

[1] Ewell GW. Radar Transmitters.

McGraw Hill Book Company; 1981. p. 56

[2] Roach B. Klystrons. In: Koryu

Ishii T, editor. Handbook of Microwave
Technology. Vol. 2. Academic Press;
1995. p. 2

[3] Cole HW. Understanding Radar. 2nd

ed. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Scientific
Publications Inc. p. 105

[4] Coleman JT. Microwave Devices.

Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing
Company; 1982. p. 122

[5] Technical Manual for Radar Sets

AN//SPS-49 (V)5 and (V)7. Vol. 1.
Naval Sea Systems Command; 1989
and 1993

[6] Joshi NR, Brock DW, Russell SD,

Lasher ME, Kasa SD. Built-in Test for
High Power Microwave Tubes Using
Acoustic Emission Technology. SSC
Technical Note 1816. San Diego, CA:
SSC San Diego; September 2001

[7] Joshi NR, Russell SD, Ramirez AD,

Brock DW. Performance monitoring of
high power microwave radar klystron
units with acoustic emission technology.
Materials Evaluation. 2007;65:1048-1053

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Chapter 9

Interfacing and Integrating

Acoustic Emission Data (Part I)

9.1. Integration of AE data with a computer

High-power microwave tube systems used in radar and communication systems

are expensive. Expenses related to these systems are primary cost drivers, with
annual costs reaching about $100 million spent on replacing malfunctioning high-
power microwave tubes used in various radar installations. In many cases, it is esti-
mated that more than 25% of perfectly operating tubes are inadvertently replaced
because in situ monitoring equipment is unavailable to diagnose specific problems
with these systems. Sometimes, high-power microwave vacuum tubes used in field
operational systems are equipped with only limited online capability for assessing
the condition of system components. With little or no built-in prognostic capability,
the users have no advance warning of a developing failure situation.
Some companies design microprocessor-based systems with as many as 11
sensors to monitor tube performance, provide tube protection, and record a
comprehensive tube failure history. As described before, a major limitation with
these systems is the small amount of time available during the tube interpulse
period for data buffering and fault analysis. These monitoring systems work well, if
the microwave tube is operated at rates of 200 or less pulses per second. However,
these tubes are typically operated at up to 1000 pps, with a 1-μs pulse. Increasing
the data acquisition speed will, in some cases, make the situation worse, since it will
increase the amount of data that must be transferred and analyzed during the small
time interval available. Data from acoustic emission (AE) systems is instantaneous,
however, and can be monitored with an advanced digital oscilloscope.
This study successfully demonstrated that the new advanced AE nondestructive
testing technique has the potential for in situ monitoring of normal and abnormal
performance of high-power microwave tubes such as magnetrons, traveling wave
tubes (TWTs), and klystrons. However, in many cases, radar installations using
microwave tubes are monitored simultaneously with other mechanical and electri-
cal systems, which interface with graphical user interface (GUI)-driven software
on personal computers (PCs). Recently, new techniques using virtual sensors have
been developed to facilitate certain decision-making processes in cases of malfunc-
tioning equipment. Consequently, it is starting to become imperative to interface
AE equipment with currently available GUI software. This interfacing of AE data
requires the development of the appropriate hardware and software, including
the development of electronic systems for the conditioning of AE data, which is
necessary before it can be fed to the computer through data acquisition interfacing
hardware. This chapter describes the efforts made in this direction.

9.2. Data acquisition unit (DAU)

An intermediate unit, capable of taking raw data from the current sensors and
AE sensors attached to the microwave tubes and transferring it to the host computer

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for further analysis and integration, was required. The Opto 22 interface unit was
already used to obtain data from mechanical systems such as pumps and turbines on
commercial and naval ships. It was decided therefore to use this same interface unit,
called an Opto 22 SNAP B3000 brain, in this effort. The B3000 unit can be used with
either an Opto 22 controller or a host computer. The unit with the host computer was
chosen. The B3000 communicates serially with a host computer over RS-485 twisted
wire pairs. It supports the advanced Mistic (popular bulletin board system) protocol
and the industry standard Optomux protocol, with both protocols able to support
high-speed communication (115 kBd). This second protocol, the Optomux, was used.
An AC37 adapter card was installed in one of the industry standard architec-
ture (ISA) slots inside the host computer to facilitate an RS-485 two- or four-wire
communication link between the computer and Opto 22 remote input/output (I/O)
bus. The remote bus is a standard RS-485 half-duplex, two-wire serial communica-
tions link. The AC37 is designed to appear as a standard IBM serial “COM” port to
user software. The AC37 has two operating modes, Mode 0 and Mode 1. While in
Mode 0, the AC37 will operate very much like a standard serial COM port. Mode 0
was selected here by removing the Opto jumper on the card. Figure 9.1 shows the
schematic arrangement of the B3000 Optomux System Architecture.
The Opto 22 SNAP B3000 brain was connected to a SNAP B series I/O rack
capable of holding eight SNAP modules, as shown in Figure 9.1B. In this effort, only
one analog voltage input module, with a − 10- to +10-VDC range (SNAP-AIV with
two channels) was used in the “Module 0” position, next to the SNAP B3000 brain.
The analog input module is transformer isolated as well as optically isolated from all
the other modules and from the SNAP B3000 brain. Transformer isolation prevents
ground loop currents from flowing between field devices and causing noise that
produces erroneous readings. Optical isolation provides 4000 V of transient protec-
tion to the sensitive control electronics from real-world industrial field signals.
However, the two channels of the analog input module use a common reference and
are not isolated from each other. The SNAP analog input module has an on-board
microprocessor to provide module-level intelligence.
The SNAP-PS5 power supply takes 120 VAC input from the power line and pro-
vides 5-VDC power for loads up to 4 A. It supplied power to the SNAP B3000 brain
and SNAP I/O module through the connector strip mounted on the rack. The power
supply module did not sit on the rack but was instead simply placed next to it.
The connectors and jumpers on the top of the SNAP B3000 brain were selected to
adjust the baud rate to 19.2 kBd and the analog address to 02 and to set the Optomux
communication protocol. Each rack had an address of the form 0, 1, 2, etc. Since we
were using rack 1, its address was set to 0. I/O on the SNAP B3000 brain was divided
into four addresses (two digital I/O and two analog I/O). The digital addresses are
base+0 and base+1. The analog addresses are base+2 and base+3, so that the analog
module snapped onto the rack has the total address of 0+2.
The SNAP B3000 brain is connected to an adapter card inside the computer.
Details are provided in the Optomux Protocol User’s Guide [1].
Optomux is a protocol used by a family of intelligent digital and analog I/O
units that operate as slave devices to a host computer. The Optomux protocol can
be used to communicate at eight different baud rates with the rate 19.2 kBd chosen
because it is suitable for other advanced software packages, in addition to the
software that came with the Opto 22 unit. To read data from the computer, the
Optoscan (OptoDriver Toolkit) software was provided. The user needs to enter
the baud rate (19.2 kBd), COM port (3), and the address (02) to view the table
showing the voltage values (between 0 and 10 VDC) from the two channels of the
analog input module. Electronic circuits were interposed between the sensor sig-
nals (from both the current sensor and AE sensor) and the analog input module
on the rack. The output voltages of these interface circuits ranged from 0 to 10 V.
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Figure 9.1.
(a) Schematic drawing of the B3000 Optomux System Architecture. (b) SNAP B series I/O rack with SNAP
B3000 BRAIN on left (top) and OPTO 22 analog input module (bottom).

9.3. Interfacing electronic circuits

9.3.1 Interface for faulty current pulses

The aim of the experiment was to distinguish the faulty current pulses from the
normal current pulses and their corresponding weak AE signals from the strong AE
signals that occur during normal operation of the high-power microwave tubes. To
perform this task, the plan was to develop circuitry to generate high-level transis-
tor-transistor logic (TTL) output pulses corresponding to bad current pulses with
a low-level TTL output for good current pulses. Figure 9.2 shows a block diagram
of electronic circuits that could achieve this aim. The circuits are identified with
the numbers included in square brackets [1C] to [5C], where the suffix “C” stands
for “Current.” The voltage pulse input to the magnetron came from an Interstate
Electronics Corporation Model P25 Pulse Generator. This pulse generator was
triggered by an external trigger circuit. Current pulses were generated at the rate of
60 pps, synchronized with the power line.
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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 9.2.
Block diagram of electronic circuits between current sensor and OPTO22 interface box for detecting and
counting defective current pulses.

In this work, the magnetron unit was used as the source of high-power micro-
wave pulses. In future tests, interfacing circuits could be modified for use with
different microwave tubes. The normal cathode current pulses in the magnetron
have very little spectral content above a frequency of about 8 MHz, while bad pulses
have a much greater spectral content above 8 MHz. Thus, an 8-MHz high-pass filter
(Block [2C] as shown in Figure 9.3) may produce a much greater output for bad
pulses compared to that for good pulses. The signal was then filtered by a 15-MHz
low-pass filter (Block [3C] as shown in Figure 9.4), which cleaned up the spectral
content of the pulses and smoothed them, but with the output, after going through
the 15-MHz filter, still being relatively small for good pulses and much larger for
bad pulses. The output from the low-pass filter was then fed into the threshold
amplifier (Block [4C] as shown in Figure 9.5) that had a comparator with an adjust-
able threshold voltage that could be set to a level where it would not respond to good
pulses but would generate a 5-V TTL-compatible output pulse when a bad current
pulse occurred.
Next, electronic circuits were needed to count the faulty current pulse signals
from the threshold amplifier. Two methods were developed to do the counting: a
digital method for usage when reset pulses were available and an analog method
for usage in the absence of reset pulses. Electronic circuits for these two counting
methods are shown in the circuit diagram, “Defective Current Pulse Counter” in
(Block [5C] as shown in Figure 9.6), with the upper part of the drawing showing

Figure 9.3.
Circuit of 8-MHz high-pass filter and detector [2C].

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Figure 9.4.
Circuit of low-pass filter—cut-off, 15 MHz [3C].

Figure 9.5.
Circuit of threshold amplifier and comparator [4C].

the digital section and the lower part, the analog section. The digital section used
two serially connected TTL count-by-ten circuits, giving the counter the ability to
count up to 100 faulty pulses between reset pulses. The output of this two-stage
TTL counter was fed into a digital-to-analog converter, since the host computer
system monitoring software was set up to use only analog inputs. After each reset
pulse, these TTL counters would begin counting pulses again from zero.

Figure 9.6.
Circuit of defective current pulse counter [5C].

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

The analog pulse counter circuit is shown in the lower part of the diagram. One
problem with counting pulses from the threshold amplifier is that the lengths of the
pulses vary from 1 to 3 μs. This problem was solved by sending the input pulses to
the base of a high-gain, high-current transistor, Q1. The transistor fully charges a
1-μF capacitor, C2, connected to its emitter, in a time period less than 1 ms, so that if
the pulses are longer than 1 μs, there will be no effect on the charge on capacitor, C2.
This capacitor then discharges through resistors R3 and R4 over a time of approxi-
mately 1 ms. During this discharge period, most of the current passes through a
1-kΩ resistor, R4, and a diode, D1, into the second 1-μF capacitor, C3. This capacitor
serves as a charge accumulator and analog counter of the number of faulty pulses.
Counter capacitor C3 is connected to the high-impedance junction field-effect
transistor (JFET) input of an LF356 operational amplifier that measures and ampli-
fies its voltage while not discharging the capacitor. A method must be provided to
discharge capacitor C3. Otherwise, the voltage on capacitor C3 would quickly reach
a maximum value and stop accumulating charge and stop counting. The discharge
method is used to continuously discharge the capacitor through a 1-MΩ resistor, R5,
which results in a 1-s time constant for the discharge time. This results in an expo-
nentially decaying voltage leading to a time-weighted averaging method, which may
be unsuitable for some applications.

9.3.2 Interface for corresponding faulty acoustic pulses

Figure 9.7 is a block diagram of the electronic circuits designed to detect and
count faulty acoustic pulses. These circuits are identified with the numbers [1A]–
[9A], where the suffix “A” stands for “Acoustic.” The AE signals generated during
the operation of the pulsed magnetron were picked up by the AE transducer, shown
as Block [1A]. It was experimentally determined that the total acoustic pulse energy
of faulty pulses was significantly less than that of good pulses. We determined
the total energy of acoustic pulses coming from the acoustic energy amplifier by
passing the output of the post-amplifier of Block [A3] into an acoustic energy
integrator, shown as Block [4A] in Figure 9.8, which rectified the acoustic signal,
and then used the rectified output to charge a capacitor. The output of the capacitor
was then sent through a 10-kHz low-pass filter (Block [5A] as shown in Figure 9.9),
to clean up the output pulses. The output from the low-pass filter was then fed into
a circuit containing a time delay, amplifier, and sample-and-hold (Block [6A] as
shown in Figure 9.10). As shown in this circuit diagram, the operational amplifier
U3 amplified the voltage of the pulses by a factor of 33, while the timer, integrated
circuit U1 generated a time delay that allowed the acoustic pulse integrator time to
fully integrate the energy of the acoustic pulses. Its delay time could be adjusted
from 0 to 3 ms and would typically be set for about 1 ms. At the end of the delay
period, U2 would send a 100-μs pulse to the sample-and-hold integrated circuit, U4,
which would sample the output from amplifier U3. Also shown in the diagram is a
50-Ω output driver circuit, consisting of operational amplifier U5 and the MJE305
and TIP42C transistors, which boosted the current of the output of U4. The output
of the circuit was then sent through a second 10-kHz low-pass filter (Block [7A] as
shown in Figure 9.11), which removed unwanted voltage spikes from its output.
The next step was to count the faulty acoustic pulse signals, as shown in Block
[8A] in Figure 9.7. Two methods were developed to do the counting that were
similar to those used for the faulty current pulses. A digital method was developed
for usage when reset pulses were available, and an analog method for usage in the
absence of reset pulses. These two counting methods are represented in Figure 9.12.
The upper part of the drawing shows the digital section and the lower part, the
analog section. A selector switch directs pulses to either section. The digital method

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Figure 9.7.
Block diagram of electronic circuits between AE sensor and Opto 22 interface for detecting and counting
defective acoustic pulses.

Figure 9.8.
Circuit of acoustic pulse energy integrator [4A].

used two TTL count-by-ten circuits connected in series, forming a counter with the
ability to count up to 100 faulty pulses between reset pulses. The outputs of the TTL
counters were fed into a digital-to-analog converter, since the host computer system
monitoring software was set up to use only analog inputs. After each reset pulse, the
TTL counters would begin counting pulses again from zero.
The analog pulse counter circuit is shown in the lower part of the diagram. The
input from the faulty pulse detector circuit is fed through capacitor C1. During
normal operation of the magnetron, the input voltage coming from sample-and-hold
integrated circuit U4 of Block [6A] has a constant positive value; however, when

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Figure 9.9.
Circuit of low-pass filter—10-kHz cut-off [5A].

Figure 9.10.
Circuit of time delay, amplifier, and sample-and-hold [6A].

faulty pulses occur, this positive voltage is reduced. The amount of voltage reduc-
tion varies from one faulty pulse to the next, so that the circuit has to compensate
for these variations. It does this by clamping the output of operational amplifier
U1 to the range of −0.15 to +5.0 V. Capacitor C1 introduces DC blockage, so the
inverting input of U1 will receive a negative input pulse when a faulty pulse occurs.
Potentiometer R3 provides an adjustable positive bias on the inverting input of U1.
During good pulses, the output of U1 will remain at a constant negative voltage, with
diode D1 limiting this voltage to −0.15 V. When a faulty pulse occurs, the negative
voltage from C1 will overcome the positive bias from R3, at the inverting input of
U1, so that the output of U1 will become positive. The gain of U1 is adjusted to a
high value, so that every faulty pulse will drive its output to the maximum positive
limiting value of +5.0 V. When the switch in the circuit is set to the lower position
for analog counting, the output current of U1 will flow through a 1-MΩ resistor, R7,
and diode D2, into a 1-μF capacitor C2. This capacitor serves as a charge accumulator
and analog counter of the number of faulty pulses. C2 is connected to the high-
impedance JFET input of operational amplifier U2, which measures and amplifies its
voltage while not discharging the capacitor. A method must be provided to discharge
capacitor C2. Otherwise, the voltage on capacitor C2 would quickly reach a maxi-
mum value and would consequently stop accumulating charge and stop counting.
The discharge method used is to continuously discharge the capacitor through a
1-MΩ resistor, R8, which results in a 1-s time constant for the discharge. This results
in an exponentially decaying signal, leading to a time-weighted average, which may
be unsuitable for some applications.

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Figure 9.11.
Circuit of low-pass filter—10-kHz cut-off [7A].

Figure 9.12.
Defective acoustic pulse counter [8A].

The Integrated Condition Assessment System (ICAS) software installed on the

host computer is different from the software that came with the Opto 22 unit, which
was discussed in Section 2. The ICAS software checks data once every second and
no reset pulse was available. Consequently, it was necessary to develop a circuit with
a timer, a sample-and-hold, and an amplifier to provide once-per-second data sam-
pling from the faulty current and acoustic pulse counters and to provide reset pulses
for the counters. This circuit called “One Second Data Sample and Reset” is shown
in Figure 9.13. It is shown as Block [9A] in Figures 9.2 and 9.7 and is common to
both current sensor and acoustic sensor data. It is also called the Opto 22 interface
circuit. The timer section consists of four LM555 timer integrated circuits. The first
timer, U1, provides a 1-s period of time for counting the pulses. Its time period is
adjustable with a 1-MΩ potentiometer. The second timer, U2, provides a 100-μs out-
put pulse, which is fed to the inputs of two sample-and-hold circuits, U5 and U6. U5
samples and holds the output of the faulty current pulse counter, while U6 samples
and holds the output of the faulty acoustic pulse counter. Timer U3 provides a
waiting period of 25 μs to ensure that U5 and U6 have passed beyond their aperture
times, before resetting the counters. This prevents any changes on the input volt-
ages, which could affect the output voltages. Next, timer U4 provides a 25-μs voltage
pulse to the reset inputs of the faulty current and acoustic pulse counters. Timer U1

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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

Figure 9.13.
Circuit of one second data sample and reset [9A] Opto 22 and ICAS interfacing circuit.

Figure 9.14.
Simple OptoScan Window (by Opto 22) to see values of the sensors 00 and 01.

then starts a new cycle, providing a new interval for counting the faulty current and
acoustic pulses. The outputs of U5 and U6 are fed to operational amplifiers U7 and
U8, respectively, which serve as buffers. The outputs of amplifiers U7 and U8 are
fed to the Opto 22 Analog Input Module on the rack.

9.3.3 Opto 22 software

The OptoDriver Toolkit of the Opto 22 equipment can be used for direct com-
munication from the host computer to the SNAP B3000 brain. The Toolkit included
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a 32-bit Windows driver. With the OptoScan (for 32-bit Microsoft® Windows
Version A4.0b) window, the operator can see the values of the two sensor outputs,
for current and acoustic emission, listed in the table of sensors. However, this soft-
ware is extremely limited and could not be used for other computations that may be
needed. Figure 9.14 shows a view of the simple Opto 22 OptoScan window showing
the values of sensors 00 and 01. The window also shows the baud rate as 19,200, the
COM port as 3, and the address as 02.

9.4. Experimental procedure

9.4.1 Checking the Opto 22 Hardware and its OptoDriver Toolkit Software

The first step in the procedure was to check the functioning of the Opto 22
Analog Module and its accompanying Opto 22 software. The module was installed
on the rack next to the Opto 22 SNAP B3000 brain, which in turn was connected
to the AC37 adapter card installed in the host PC. Two DC voltages were fed into
the two DC power inputs of the analog module from two separate HP6216A power
supply units. After all the connections were completed, the units were turned on.
The software then accurately acquired the simulated sensor voltages, as can be seen
from the first two channels, 00 and 01, each showing values of 3 V in the rightmost
column of Figure 9.14. These results confirmed that the Opto 22 system was work-
ing. The next step was to check all the electronic circuits between the two sensors
and analog input module of the Opto 22 unit.

9.4.2 Checking of various electronic circuits

The outputs of various electronic circuits were checked, one at a time to ensure
they were functioning properly before connecting them to the other circuits, as
shown in Figures 9.2 and 9.7. The inputs and outputs of the circuits tested were
connected to the various channels of a LeCroy 9354 AM 500-MHz digital oscil-
loscope. This oscilloscope has four regular channels (1, 2, 3, and 4) and four zoom
traces or channels (A, B, C, and D). The sampling rate is 2 GS/s, with a storage
capacity of one million points if a single channel is used, and 500 MS/s, with 250-KS
storage capacity per channel, if all four channels are used. The device under test, a
pulsed magnetron, was then turned on. An AE transducer (S9208) was coupled to

Figure 9.15.
(A) Defective acoustic energy pulse on Ch 3 at the vertical division 2. Ch 4: corresponding TTL output. Ch
3 and 4 time scale = 10 ms/div. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 4: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div. (B)
Defective current pulse on Ch 2. Ch 3: defective acoustic energy pulse. Ch 4: corresponding TTL output. Ch 2, 3,
and 4: time scale = 50 ms/div. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 50 mV/div. Ch 2 and 4: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div.

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the magnetron’s anode cylinder with a couplant and held in position with a clamp-
ing mechanism. Any AE signal picked up by the transducer during the pulsed
operation of the magnetron was fed to the pre-amplifier. The useful frequency
range of the pre-amplifier was 100 kHz to 1 MHz. The signal was then amplified by
the post-amplifier and then fed to the acoustic energy integrator circuit, shown in
Figure 9.9. Earlier research work showed that only very aged high-power micro-
wave tubes (magnetrons, TWTs, or klystrons) generate defective (faulty) current
pulses during continuous operation. However, newer tubes may generate defective
current pulses at the startup time before they get stabilized. In current research

Figure 9.16.
(A) Input to [5C] and output from [5C] and output of [8A] coincide. Ch 2: input to defective current pulse
counter. Time scale = 1 s/div. Ch 3: output of defective current pulse counter. Time scale = 1 s/div. Ch 4: output
of defective acoustic pulse counter. Time scale = 1 s/div. Ch 3 and 4: vertical sensitivity = 5 V/div. Ch 2: vertical
sensitivity = 1 V/div. (B) Outputs from two counters coincide with reset pulses. Ch 3: connected to reset from 1 s.
Data sample and reset box [9A]. Ch 2: output of defective acoustic pulse counter box [8A]-counts of bad pulses.
Ch 4: output of defective current pulse counter box [5C]-counts of bad pulses. Ch 2, 3, and 4: time scale = 0.2 s/
div. Ch 3: reset pulses-separated by 1 s. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div. Ch 2 and 4: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div.

Figure 9.17.
Defective current pulses output transfer. Checking of function of one second data sample and reset box [9A].
(A) Before transfer. Ch 4: signal amplitude at cursor = 609 mV. Ch 2: signal amplitude at cursor = 31 mV. Time
scale = 0.2 s/div on all channels of both figures. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div for both figures. Ch 2 and 4:
vertical sensitivity = 0.50 V/div for both figures. Ch 3: to reset on box [9A]. Ch 4: current pulses input to box
[9A]. Ch 2: current pulses output from [9A]. (B) After transfer. Ch 4: amplitude at cursor = 31 mV. Ch 2:
amplitude at cursor = 625 mV. Ch 3: to reset on box [9A]. Ch 4: current pulses input to box [9A]. Ch 2: current
pulses output from [9A].

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Figure 9.18.
Defective acoustic pulses output transfer. Checking of function of one second data sample and reset box [9A].
(A) Before transfer. Ch 4: signal amplitude at cursor = 516 mV. Ch 2: signal amplitude at cursor = 0 mV. Time
scale = 0.2 s/div on all channels of both figures. Ch 3: vertical sensitivity = 1 V/div for both figures. Ch 2 and
4: vertical sensitivity = 0.50 V/div for both figures. Ch 3: to reset on box [9A]. Ch 4: acoustic pulses input to
box [9A]. Ch 2: acoustic pulses output from [9A]. (B) After transfer. Ch 4: amplitude at cursor = 0 mV. Ch
2: amplitude at cursor = 531 mV. Ch 3: to reset on box [9A]. Ch 4: acoustic pulses input to box [9A]. Ch 2:
acoustic pulses output from [9A].

work, the procedure of restarting the magnetron was used to generate defective
current pulses. The faulty current pulses and the corresponding faulty AE pulses
were displayed on the oscilloscope along with other related outputs from the other
electronic circuits. The results of these tests were recorded as screen captures of
oscilloscope displays showing the various signals. The selected displays are shown
in Figures 9.15–9.18 to highlight the performance of the various electronic circuits,
and finally, of the whole system. One can find the details of the functioning of
electronic circuits in the research report by Joshi et al. [2].

9.5. Experimental results

9.5.1 Display No. 1

The output of the acoustic energy integrator, after passing through the 10-kHz
low-pass filter (Block [5A] of Figure 9.7) was connected to Channel 3 and to the input
of the time delay amplifier and sample-and-hold circuit (Block [6A] of Figure 9.7).
The output of this second circuit was connected to Channel 4. Defective current pulses
were generated by the pulsed magnetron unit, using the previously described restarting
method. Channel 3 recorded one defective acoustic energy pulse located at the second
vertical division, in Figure 9.15A, with the corresponding TTL output on Channel 4.

9.5.2 Display No. 2

The screen display in Figure 9.15B shows simultaneously the defective current pulse
on Channel 2, defective acoustic energy pulse on Channel 3, and TTL output pulse from
the output of the second 10-kHz low-pass filter (Block [7A] of Figure 9.7) on Channel
4. All three pulses arrived at the same time, showing the satisfactory performance of
these electronic circuits.
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Acoustic Emission Technology for High Power Microwave Radar Tubes

9.5.3 Display No. 3

In Figure 9.16A, Channels 2 and 3 of the oscilloscope were connected to the

input and output of the defective current pulse counter (shown as Block [5C] of
Figure 9.7). Channel 4 was connected to the defective acoustic pulse counter (Block
[8A] in Figure 9.7). All three outputs coincide in time, indicating good performance
of the electronic circuits involved.

9.5.4 Display No. 4

Next, the functioning of the reset pulses was tested. These pulses occurred at
1-s intervals. The output of the defective acoustic pulse counter (Block [8A] of
Figure 9.7) was connected to Channel 2, as shown in Figure 9.16B. The output of
the defective current pulse counter (Block [5C] of Figure 9.7) was connected to
Channel 4. The resets for both counters were the same. Channel 3 was connected
to the reset from the “One Second Data Sample and Reset” circuit (Block [9A]
of Figure 9.7). Channel 3 shows two reset pulses separated by 1 s. Both counters
showed their output counts resetting in step with the reset pulses, as expected. The
oscilloscope’s voltage measurement cursor is visible as a short vertical line next to
the sixth vertical division on all three channels.

9.5.5 Display No. 5

Here, the test of the functioning of the circuit “One Second Data Sample and
Reset” (Block [9A] of Figure 9.7) was carried out. The maximum output of the
circuits for both the defective current pulse counter and defective acoustic pulse
counter was 10 V, which was the limit to the DC power input voltage that the analog
module [10] could receive. The reset was adjusted to repeat after 99 pulses (99
p × 0.1 V/p = 9.99 V). First, the test was performed for defective current pulses, with
the output of the defective current pulse counter (Block [5C] of Figure 9.7) con-
nected to Channel 4 and to the input of the “One Second Data Sample and Reset”
circuit. The counts are in the form of increasing steps, as shown in Figure 9.17A. The
output of the “One Second Data Sample and Reset” circuit was connected to Channel
2. The reset pulses are displayed on Channel 3. The voltage measurement cursor
appears as a short vertical line on these three channels between the fifth and sixth
vertical divisions.

9.5.6 Display No. 6

In this test, the cursor was moved to the right to compare the voltages after the
data transfer and reset with voltages acquired previously. Figure 9.17B shows that
the signal value on Channel 4 was changed from 609 to 31 mV and that a simultane-
ous change occurred on Channel 2 from 31 to 625 mV. As before, Channel 3 shows
two of the reset pulses.

9.5.7 Display No. 7

The data display in Figure 9.18A is similar to that of Figure 9.17A, but was
obtained for the defective acoustic pulse count and the corresponding DC voltage
output before transfer and reset.

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9.5.8 Display No. 8

In Figure 9.18B, the cursor was moved to the right to measure the effects of the
acoustic data transfer and reset. Comparing Figure 9.18A and B shows that the
signal value on Channel 4 was changed from 516 to 0 mV and that a simultaneous
change occurred on Channel 2, from 0 to 531 mV. As before, Channel 3 shows two
of the reset pulses.
After checking the functioning of the “One Second Data Sample and Reset”
circuit for the defective current pulses and the defective acoustic pulses separately,
the circuit was tested using simultaneous current and acoustic inputs and outputs
with simultaneous data transfers and resets. Using a special feature of the LeCroy
oscilloscope, two cursors were set on each of the four channels to see the sequence
of the data transfer from the “One Second Data Sample and Reset” circuit, shown
as Block [9A] in Figure 9.7, to the next circuit, the Opto 22 Analog Input Module,
shown as Block [10] in Figure 9.7. The results of this set of tests are discussed in the
next chapter.

9.6. Conclusions

The step of interfacing the outputs of the current sensor and acoustic emis-
sion sensor with the host computer must be done using the Opto 22 intelligent
digital and analog I/O (input and output) hardware units. The Opto 22 analog
input module has a range of 0–10 V for its two inputs. The electronic circuits dis-
cussed in Section 3 of this chapter were designed and built during this research
project to convert the outputs of the current and acoustic emission sensors into
DC voltages compatible with the inputs of the Opto analog input module. We
checked these circuits’ functional outputs at each successive stage. Finally, we
connected and operated the whole system. We then operated the pulsed mag-
netron intermittently to generate defective current pulses from it, along with
defective acoustic energy pulses. The electronically processed outputs from these
two sensors were finally received in the OptoScan window of the Opto 22 soft-
ware. Thus, the total system, composed of the magnetron; the AE equipment;
the electronic circuitry of Section 3; the Opto 22 SNAP B3000 brain; and the host
computer with the OptoScan software, was assembled and its functioning was
tested successfully.
The OptoScan software has only limited capability and cannot be used
for constructing virtual sensors. The next step was to develop a system for
field applications. For this purpose, ICAS software, currently used to moni-
tor mechanical devices such as pumps and turbines, was more versatile than
OptoScan software. The Sensor Editor of the ICAS software translates raw data
from an external source into an ICAS sensor value. This process allows ICAS to
merge various input types into a single homogeneous “virtual” type. When ICAS
receives inputs and converts them to virtual data, all sensors values are alike,
regardless of where they originate. Since all sensor values have common units,
once inside ICAS, operations between dissimilar devices are possible. The sensor
definition elements describe the properties associated with a sensor, all of which
can be edited using the Sensor Editor. These properties include data acquisi-
tion sources, display units, background scan rates, sensor value calibrations,
and many others. The integration of ICAS software with the current system is
described in the next chapter.

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References

[1] Optomux Protocol User’s Guide

(Form 203-001026-October, 2000).
43044 Business Park Drive, Temecula,
CA 92590-3614: Opto 22 Corporation.
Internet website: www.opto22.com

[2] Joshi NR, Ramirez AD, Brock DW,

Russell SD. Monitoring of high-power
microwave tube systems using the
integrated condition assessment system
(ICAS). In: Technical Report. San
Diego, San Diego, CA: SPAWAR Systems
Center; July 2002

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Chapter 10

Interfacing and Integrating

Acoustic Emission Data (Part II)

10.1. Introduction

The focus in this chapter is on the procedure and details for coupling the acous-
tic emission-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) system with the versatile
Integrated Condition Assessment System (ICAS) software. This software is used for
comprehensive monitoring of many types of equipment including radar systems.
ICAS is a comprehensive, maintenance-enabling tool. It provides data acquisi-
tion and display, equipment analysis, diagnostic recommendations, and decision
support information to plant operators and maintenance personnel. Three primary
process applications (software programs) work together to operate ICAS: the main
shell, the router, and the analysis engine. Many secondary applications (referred to
as applets) enhance ICAS by presenting information, making calculations, per-
forming analyses, and offering advice via Hybrid Decision Support (HDS). ICAS
applications receive inputs externally from sensors mounted at various locations on
the monitored equipment. These inputs, in conjunction with the ICAS software,
work in a hierarchical relationship to perform as designed and to offer a complete
comprehensive condition-based monitoring tool.

10.2. Acoustic emission to detect faulty RF pulses

The project proved experimentally that the advanced acoustic emission tech-
nique can be used as the nondestructive testing method for in-situ performance
monitoring of high power microwave radar tubes like pulsed magnetrons, pulsed
TWTs, and pulsed klystrons. It was shown experimentally that the changes in the
amplitude and frequency contents of current pulses of the operating microwave
tubes were accompanied by the changes in the energy of acoustic emission pulses.
Not all RF pulses emitted by a microwave tube such as a magnetron are good. For
example, out of 60 pps, 15–20 may be bad. The acoustic emission decreased consid-
erably during the emission of a bad RF pulse from a microwave tube. In this project,
electronic circuitry was developed to count the number of faulty pps in the beam
current and the number per second of the corresponding acoustic emission from
faulty pulses. It was expected that the number of faulty acoustic emission pulses
detected in a second would be less than or equal to that of faulty current pulses since
the acoustic emission component of the whole experimental setup is less prone to
electrical noise compared with the detection circuitry of current faulty pulses.
The next step was to interface the outputs of the current sensor and acoustic
emission sensor with ICAS (Integrated Condition Assessment System) software
currently used for comprehensive monitoring of many electrical and mechani-
cal systems simultaneously. The interfacing has to be done using the hardware of
OPTO22 Intelligent digital and analog input and output (I/O) units. The OPTO22
analog input module takes 0–10 V for its two inputs. The challenge was to develop
the electronic circuitry to convert the outputs of the current and acoustic emission

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sensors into DC voltages compatible with the inputs of the OPTO analog input
module. As described in the earlier chapter, this task was successfully completed,
and circuits were checked for their outputs at successive stages. The block diagram
of these circuits is shown in Figures 9.2 and 9.7 of Chapter 9. In both figures, the
last box (9A) produces counts of both faulty current pulses and faulty acoustic
emission pulses. The two outputs of the box (9A) serve as inputs to the analog
module (box10) of OPTO22 (OPTOmux) system.
After the whole system was connected together, the system was operated
intermittently in order to generate defective current pulses from the pulsed
magnetron which in turn generated defective acoustic emission energy pulses.
The electronically converted outputs from the two sensors were finally
received in the OPTOSCAN software and were displayed on the computer
screen. Figure 9.14 of Chapter 9 shows the OPTOSCAN window. The window
shows the baud rate (19200), the Com Port 3, and address 02. On the right
hand side, the first two channels (00 and 01) are showing voltage values.
The OPTOSCAN software has only limited capability and cannot be used for
constructing virtual sensors. The ICAS software has that capability. It was
therefore decided to explore the full potential of the ICAS software to increase
the efficiency in the field applications of the acoustic emission technique as a
built-in test for high power microwave tubes.

10.3. Experimental setup

The complete experimental setup (Figure 10.1) assembled could be divided into
four components as follows:
The first component of the experimental setup included the magnetron with a
current sensor coupled to its cathode cable and an acoustic emission sensor coupled
to its anode cylinder, along with the acoustic emission preamplifier and postampli-
fier and a modulator to provide high-voltage pulses to power the magnetron. The
LeCroy Model 9354AM digital oscilloscope was used to observe the various signals.
The output (−10 V pulses) of a pulse generator (Interstate Electronic Corporation
Model P25) was connected to the trigger input of the magnetron modulator. A
60-Hz synchronizer circuit was connected to pulse generator, which enabled the
triggering to be controlled by the on/off switch on the box.
The second component of the setup comprised the different electronic circuit
boxes which would convert raw data.
The OPTO22 (Optomux) unit with its power supply, the analog input module,
and the brain (A/D conversion unit) constituted the third component of the setup.
The fourth component is the host computer (PC) with ICAS software and
OptoScan software.
These four components will now be discussed in more detail.

A. The first component is the high-power magnetron microwave radar tube,

with current and acoustic emission sensors with their associated circuitry putting
out raw data about both good and bad RF pulses.
Proper operation of the magnetron depended upon the amplitude of the voltage
pulse applied and the proper loading of the magnetron by the RF system. Although
the magnetron’s oscillation frequency was fixed at the design value, oscillation
could occur at other than the correct frequency, resulting in overheating and lower
output. This is known as double moding and is usually due to a change in loading, or
in magnetic field or in the applied voltage. It may be overcome by changing either

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Figure 10.1.
Complete system for counting of current faulty pulses and acoustic emission faulty pulses.

the loading or the applied cathode voltage to obtain a more stable operating point.
The outside of the magnetron is a grounded shell to which the plate of the magne-
tron is connected. The cathode of the tube is heated indirectly and connected to one
side of the filament. The filament is fed by a transformer, which is highly insulated
to withstand the peak modulator pulse voltage applied to the cathode.
The objective of the test was to detect and count the faulty pulses generated by the
magnetron. Some of the causes of faulty functioning of the magnetron are discussed
above. Faulty pulses could be generated during the startup of the magnetron before
a stable operating point is reached. They could also be generated by reflection of RF
energy in the attached waveguide. Additionally, they could be generated by turning the
trigger pulses on and off (negative 10 V pulse generated by the Interstate Electronics
P25 pulse generator) to the high-voltage modulator that powered the magnetron.

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The current and acoustic emission sensors.

The current sensor used in this setup was a transformer, the secondary of which
puts out 1 volt per ampere of current flowing to the cathode during pulsing of the
magnetron. As discussed in Section 3 of Chapter 9, if the magnetron is putting out a
bad pulse, the output voltage pulse from current sensor will have considerable high
frequency content. If the magnetron is putting out a good RF pulse, the current
pulse will not have the high frequency content. This setup provides a way to identify
and count faulty pulses.
The acoustic emission transducer used in the setup was a Model S9208 (from
Physical Acoustics). Its output fed into a preamplifier (2/4/6 Physical Acoustics)
and postamplifier (AE1A) with gain settings set at 20 and 21 dB, respectively. As
described in Section 2 of Chapter 5, the transducer was coupled to the magnetron
with a custom adapter and a coupling compound.

B. The second component—electronic circuits for conversion of raw data from

sensors
As discussed in Section 3 of Chapter 9, the output of the current sensor passes
through multiple electronic circuits and emerges as voltages representing the defec-
tive current pulse count during each second. Similarly, the output of the acoustic
emission sensor also passes through multiple electronic circuits and emerges as
voltages representing the defective acoustic pulse counts. The outputs of the elec-
tronic circuit (Block (9A) of Figure 9.7) called “One second Data Sample and Reset
circuit” or the OPTO22 Interface circuit were fed to the analog input module.

C. The third component—OPTO22 Optomux I/O unit.

The two outputs of the box (9A) of Figure 9.7 were fed to the analog input
module of the Optomux unit, Block (10). The module has two channels that accept
analog voltages ranging from −10 to +10 V DC. The range 0–10 V was used in this
setup. The Optomux unit sampled these inputs once per second. In the experimen-
tal setup during 1 s, 60 RF pulses are generated, with a mixture of good and faulty
pulses. Only the faulty pulses were counted through the interfacing electronic
circuitry. The maximum number of faulty pulses per second was 60. The maximum
possible input voltage to the analog module was 10 V. This indicates that the voltage
increment per faulty pulse should not exceed (1/60) × 10 V or 167 mV. Therefore,
it is necessary to check the outputs of the electronic counters, shown as Blocks (5C)
and (8A) in Figure 9.7, that feed into Block (9A), the OPTO22 Interface box, to
determine their output voltage increment per bad pulse.
This was done first for the section of circuit (5C) that counted the faulty cur-
rent pulses. A square wave from the Interstate Electronics Corporation P25 Pulse
Generator was fed into the input of the circuit (5C) and also to Channel 3 of the
LeCroy oscilloscope. Channel 1 was triggered by an external pulse source (output
to counter reset) coming from circuit (9A). Channel 2 was connected to the current
faulty pulse counter output of circuit (5A). The number of pulses per second at the
input was increased in an approximately logarithmic manner, and the output volt-
age was recorded. The experiment was repeated for the section for counting faulty
acoustic pulses, with its output connected to Channel 4 of the oscilloscope. The
results are given in Table 1.
The average voltage increment per pulse was not equal for the current and
acoustic counter outputs. Therefore, the gains for these two circuit components
were adjusted to give the same value of 0.24 V/p. With this new gain, a count of 42
would give an output of 10 V. Here, the assumption was made that not all 60 pulses
during 1 s were going to be faulty. With a gain of 0.24 volt per bad pulse, the output

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Table 1.
After calibration, the gains for both circuit boxes (5C) and (8A) were adjusted to get the same (0.24 V/pulse)
output voltage per pulse.

will be 14.4 V if all 60 pulses in a second turned out to be bad. The final operational
amplifiers in the counter circuits could actually go to a maximum of 13 V. This was
another reason for choosing this value for the gain.
The Optomux I/O unit communicates with the host computer over the RS-485
serial communication link. The Optomux I/O unit converts the analog data into
digital data by converting its analog voltage inputs into digital data and then
sending the data to the AC37 adapter card installed inside the host computer, over
an RS-485 two- or four-wire communication link. Before putting the AC37 card
into operation, its jumpers needed to be properly set. It had seven address jumpers
(A3 through A9). These jumpers were used to select the base address of the adapter
card. In this test, they were set to A4, A5, and A7, giving a base address as HEX
348. The AC37 card allowed for the selection of the interrupt request line with a
group of jumpers labeled “IRQ GROUP.” Only one jumper was set, on IRQ4. The
communication port chosen was COM3. In “GROUP C,” consisting of nine jump-
ers, they were set on the COM ports from COM0 to COM8. In the left-hand bottom
corner of the AC37 adapter card, a jumper was set to select OPT0, leaving OPT1
unselected. When a jumper was installed, it sets its jumper value to zero. With no
jumper installed, the value would be one. The details of the Optomux protocol
used by the OPTO22 I/O unit and of the AC37 card can be obtained from [1].

D. The fourth component—the ICAS software and analysis engine

The ICAS software took data from the Optomux unit and displayed it on the
computer screen. However, certain steps were needed to inform ICAS about the
sensors and their outputs. These steps were shown in different windows of ICAS,
which were used sequentially. Each window needed to be opened in the proper
sequence, the required values entered, then executed, and saved. These steps are
described in detail in the ICAS manuals supplied by Idax Inc. [2, 3]. The values of
parameters seen in the different ICAS windows in the manuals are not necessarily
those used in this experimental work.

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10.4. Experimental data collection procedure

Following the setup procedure of the previous section, all four components were
connected together at this stage of the experiment, so that data could flow from
the sensors to the ICAS software installed on the host computer. The oscilloscope
used in this procedure was a LeCroy Model 9354AM 500-MHz digital unit with four
input channels, each having a sampling rate of 500 MS/s, and 8-bit A/D conversion.
Channel 1 is connected to the trigger source (output to counter reset) to display the
trigger pulses. Channel 2 shows the output of the counter for faulty current pulses
(0.24 V/p). Channel 4 shows the output of the counter for faulty acoustic pulses
(0.24 V/p). The time scale of the horizontal time axis was set at 10 s/div. To display
data on this long-time scale, the oscilloscope was set into the scrolling mode. When

Figure 10.2.
(a) Faulty pules count per second. Ch 1: trigger pulses-one pulse per second coming from output to counter
reset. Ch 2: current faulty pulses per second. Ch 4: acoustic emission faulty pulses per second. Gain on the two
counters = 0.24 volts per pulse. On the ninth vertical division on Ch 2, the height of 5 V = 21 bad current pulses
per second out of 60 pulses/s. On the ninth vertical division on Ch 4, the height of 3.6 V = 15 bad acoustic pulses
per second out of 60 pulses/s. Right edge = zeroth division. (b) Upper display of real sensors-green trace-current
faulty pulses/s (X). Yellow trace-acoustic emission faulty pulses/s (Y). Lower display of virtual sensors-yellow
trace is (X-Y) and green trace is (X × Y)/1000.

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the traces of all three channels reached the left edge of the oscilloscope screen, the
scrolling was stopped, and the screen data was saved on a disk in the oscilloscope.
The faulty pulses were generated repeatedly by using one of the three methods
described above. Figure 10.2. shows one such oscilloscope screen display stored on
the computer disc.
On the oscilloscope display, the time is zero at the left edge and 100 s at the right
edge. Each oscilloscope screen display that was stored on the disk was accompanied
by a copy, stored in the computer, of the display of the simultaneous output of the
ICAS software. An example is shown in Figure 10.2.A and B, where Figure 10.2. from
the oscilloscope is accompanied by Figure 10.2.B from ICAS. Figure 10.2.A and B
are both dual chart displays. The upper chart in Figure 10.2.B shows the counts of the
faulty current pulses during each second, represented by the green color trace, and
the counts during each second of the faulty acoustic pulses, represented by the yellow
color trace.
The horizontal time scale was then set to 12 s/div, giving 2 min for the whole
span of 10 divisions. The ICAS software does not allow a total time for the X-axis of
less than 1 min. This time scale was chosen to make the total times on the horizontal
axes of both the ICAS and oscilloscope screen displays match each at least approxi-
mately. On the vertical axis of Figure 10.2.B, each division is 100 V.

Figure 10.3.
(A) Defining the first real sensor in ICAS window (current faulty pulses/s). (B) Defining the second real sensor
in ICAS window (acoustic emission faulty pulses/s). (C) Defining the virtual sensor (($0 × $1)/100) in ICAS
sensor definition window. (D) Defining the virtual sensor ($0-$1) in ICAS sensor definition.

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Figure 10.3A–D shows computer screen displays from the ICAS software that
were used to define real and virtual sensors. Figure 10.3A and B shows the settings
to define real sensors for faulty current and acoustic pulses, while Figure 10.3C and
D shows settings to define virtual sensors. In the sensor definition editor window of
Figure 10.3A, in the math expression box, the output value ($0) of the real sensor0
(current fault count, with the data normalized by dividing by 10, to have a maximum
value of 1.0) is multiplied by 1000. Similarly, in Figure 10.3B, the output value ($1)
of the real sensor1 (acoustic fault count, similarly normalized) is multiplied by 1000
so that in both cases one gets 1000 V for the maximum 10 V count outputs. The
values shown in the top left corner of the upper display of Figure 10.2B shows the
voltage values on both traces at the right edge since the traces were scrolling from
right to left.
One of the advantages of the ICAS software is that one can create virtual
sensors by combining mathematically the values from real sensors, in this case X
and Y. The lower display of Figure 10.2B shows plots of values from two virtual
sensors. The first virtual sensor plotted is (X-Y), as a yellow trace showing the
difference value of current fault counts minus acoustic fault counts. Thus, the
difference (500.40–276.20) between the two values at the right edge is equal to
224.20. In this figure, the values appearing in the top left corners of the display
again give the values at the right edges of the plots. On both the upper and lower
displays of Figure 10.2B, the horizontal and vertical scales are the same. The
green trace in this figure shows the second virtual sensor, the product (X*Y) of
(current fault counts × acoustic fault counts)/1000. For this virtual sensor, the
values shown in the top-left corner of the display give a value at the right edge of
(500.40 × 276.20)/1000 = 138.21.
Usually, the values indicated by the yellow trace for the acoustic fault count
in the upper display are lower than the values displayed by the green trace for the
current fault count. This was expected, as discussed previously. Figure 10.3C shows
the sensor definition editor window for the virtual sensor of ($0 × $1)/1000. Figure
10.3D shows the sensor definition editor window for the virtual sensor ($0-$1).
The virtual sensors chosen here are only for the illustration of the versatility of the
ICAS software. One could decide on the proper combinations of real sensor data to
generate virtual sensors, depending on the requirements for the application. Other
information about operating ICAS systems using real and virtual sensors can be
obtained from the report by Joshi [4].

10.5. Conclusions

The dual (current and acoustic emission) sensor system for in-situ performance
monitoring of high power microwave tubes can be successfully integrated with
ICAS software used for performance monitoring of on-board machinery. The
Integrated Condition Assessment System (ICAS) software is powerful software and
has new features like virtual sensors. Depending upon the application, its various
features can be exploited for the decision making procedures. It is necessary to
delineate clearly the advantages of each of the two sensors and to prove under what
circumstances AE sensor is preferred to electric current sensor. To compare the
difference between functioning of the two sensors, additional experiments need to
be arranged.
Sensors are the input legs of ICAS. Sensors form the boundary between the real
world and the virtual environment that ICAS uses, once it has normalized all sensor
information. ICAS monitors and predicts machinery or equipment failure modes
by comparing the sensor data to established engineering performance criteria. If a

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81649

machine’s actual performance (as compared to its design performance) violates a

specified limit, an alarm is activated. To utilize this ability of ICAS, data generated
at specific intervals of time during the in-situ performance monitoring of high
power microwave tube AE techniques need to be stored in the ICAS database. The
task of storing the data, comparing the data, displaying the trend indicator graphs,
and setting alarm activation guidelines is the next step to be undertaken to complete
the integration. Since ICAS has ability to take data inputs from multiple sensors,
the multi-sensor, multi-channel acoustic emission system in place of the present
single sensor system could also be used. ICAS can use calculated or pseudo (virtual)
sensors in addition to the physical sensors.
In conclusion, ICAS can be an effective diagnostic tool for high-powered
microwave tubes by using data from multiple sensors, comparing data with refer-
ence values to aid in decision-making procedures and creating new virtual sensors
by combining data from real sensors.

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References

[1] OPTOMUX Protocol User’s Guide

(Form 203-001026-October, 2000).
43044 Business Park Drive, Temecula,
CA 92590-3614: OPTO22 Corporation.
Internet web site:www.opto22.com

[2] ICAS-CDS Developer Manual. 5301

Robin Hood Road, Suite 134, Norfolk,
Virginia, USA: IDAX Incorporated
(www.idax.com)

[3] ICAS-System Administrator User

Manual. 5301 Robin Hood Road, Suite
134, Norfolk, Virginia, USA: IDAX
Incorporated (www.idax.com)

[4] Joshi NR. ICAS system to monitor

performance of microwave radar power
tubes with acoustic emission technology
(Part IV-Magnetron). Technical Note
1885. San Diego, Advanced Technology
Branch, Code 2853: SPAWAR Systems
Center; July 2002

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