Abstract: Based on the fundamental theorem of Slow ness Deviation Method, the specific method to determine the source location, occurring time and slow ness deviation of an AE by the Genetic Algorithm have been offered in this paper. Combining with the actual experimental condition, some questions such as AE source location error have been discussed by the numerical tests, and the statistic limitation for error distribution of AE location has been also expressed in the paper. The results show that the algorithm has a high precision, good convergence and stability. The number and distribution of the sensors can strongly influence the accuracy of AE location. The ideal results could be go t when four or more sensors are triggered. Large location error comes from a few results of AE location out side the sensor array. Generically, when random arrival time error is smaller than 50% of the minimum time measuring unit, the location error, more than 97% of AE events, is distributed in the range of 3 mm to be smaller than the diameter of a sensor.

Key words: Acoustic emission, Slow ness deviation, Genetic algorithm, Numerical test