• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.546-549
• /
• 2006

A series of seismic tests was carried out using piezoelectric elements called "bender elements". A pair of bender elements can be used as a source and a receiver respectively to measure dynamic properties of concrete. The most suitable bender elements were developed and implemented to measure P wave velocity changes due to the cracks of a concrete beam caused by bending.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2005.03a
• /
• pp.308-319
• /
• 2005

Piezo-ceramics are special materials which transform energy between mechanical and electrical forms. Bender-elements are composite materials consisting of thin piezo-ceramics and elastic shims, and are widely used as actuators and transducers in the field of electronics, robotics, autos and mechatronics utilizing the effectiveness of energy transformation capability. In geotechnical engineering, commercial bender-elements are used in laboratory as source and receiver in the measurements of soil stiffness. The elements were built by using various metal shims sandwiched between piezo-ceramics and coating over the composite in the research. A pair of elements were buried in a concrete block and used as source and receiver to measure the stiffness of the concrete. The test results were verified by comparing with the resonant column testing results. In a preliminary stage of the development of an in-situ seismic testing equipment using bender-elements for soft clay materials, shear waves were generated and measured by burying the elements in the barrel of kaolinite and water mixture. The measured shear wave signals were so distinct for the first-arrival pick that applicability of the elements in the field measurements is very promising.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2006

The shear wave velocity is related with the stiffness of granular skeleton and mass density. The shear stiffness of the granular skeleton remains unaffected by the presence of the fluid. Bender elements are convenient shear wave transducers for instrumenting soil cells due to optimal soil-transducer coupling. This study addresses the principles of the shear wave, the design and implementation of bender elements including electromagnetic coupling prevention, directivity, resonant frequency, detection of first arrival, and near field effects. It is shown that electromagnetic coupling effects can be minimized using parallel-type bender elements. Thus, the in-plane S-wave directivity is quasi-circular. The resonant frequency of bender element installations depends on the geometry of the bender element, the anchor efficiency and the soil stiffness. One of the most cumbersome parts in the bender element test is near field effects, which affect the selection of arrival time. The selection of the first arrival within the near field Is effectively solved by the multiple reflection technique and signal matching technique. Bender elements, which requires several considerations, may be effective tools for the subsurface characterization by using S-wave.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2010.09a
• /
• pp.1110-1116
• /
• 2010

Void ratios are one of the key parameters for exact calculation of settlement of soft groundse. In the study, shear wave velocities of a soft ground were used to measure the field void ratio using bender elements sensors. The bender-element probes were installed in situ at the depths of 3, 5 and 8m on a pre-loading site near Incheon, Korea. During 90 days after installation, the changes of shear wave velocity and ground surface settlement were measured. The field void ratio was estimated from measured shear wave velocities. The void ratio estimated by the shear wave velocity measured by bender elements agrees well with the measured values in the field.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2006.03a
• /
• pp.161-170
• /
• 2006

Bender elements, composed of thin piezo-ceramics and elastic shims, have been used to measure shear wave velocities of specimens in laboratories. In a preliminary stage of their field applications, an in-house research of optimizing suitable bender elements and geometrical arrangement has been carried out in a barrel of kaolinite-water mixture. Two types of measurement configuration, similar to cross-hole and in-hole seismic testing, has been implemented. A pair of prototype instrumented rods was penetrated into a soft clay layer in the west coast and excellent shear waves were recorded. Development of penetration device(mandrel) and associated instrumented rods are in progress for deeper investigation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.11
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2006

Bender elements, composed of thin piezo-ceramics and elastic shims, have been used to measure shear wave velocities of specimens in laboratories. In a preliminary stage of their field applications, an in-house research of optimizing suitable bender elements and their geometrical arrangement has been carried out in a barrel of kaolinite-water mixture. Two types of measurement configuration, similar to cross-hole and in-hole seismic testing, have been implemented. prototype instrumented rods were penetrated into a soft clay layer in the west coast and excellent shear waves were recorded. Development of penetration device (mandrel) and associated instrumented rods are in progress for deeper investigation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.215-223
• /
• 2005

Piezo-ceramics are special materials which transform energy from mechanical to electrical forms and vice versa. Bender elements are composite materials consisting of thin piezo-ceramics and elastic shims, and are widely used as actuators and transducers in the field of electronics, robotics, autos and mechatronics utilizing the effectiveness of energy transformation capability. In geotechnical engineering, commercial bender elements are used in laboratory as source and receiver in the measurements of soil stiffness. The elements were built by using various metal shims sandwiched between piezo-ceramics and coating over the composite in the research. A pair of elements were buried in a concrete block and used as source and receiver to measure the stiffness of the concrete. The test results were verified by comparing with the resonant column testing results. In a preliminary stage of the development of an in-situ seismic testing equipment using bender elements for soft clay materials, shear waves were generated and measured by burying the elements in the barrel of kaolinite and water mixture. The measured shear wave signals were so distinct for the first-arrival pick that applicability of the elements in the field measurements could be very promising.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2010.03a
• /
• pp.705-710
• /
• 2010

Bender element is made of connecting two piezoelectric elements which have different polarities from each other, and is a kind of sensors which can be used either way as a source making elastic wave or a receiver. Elastic waves generated by stimulating the bender elements can be decomposed to P-wave and S-wave propagation. Numerical and expeimental studies are conducted, and results show that multiple measurements are recommended to determine wave arrivals from the received signals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2008.10a
• /
• pp.1278-1284
• /
• 2008

This study carried out bender element tests in a calibration chamber in order to estimate the characteristics of soil specimen prepared in a calibration chamber. Basically, the purpose of bender element test is to measure the shear wave velocity. Bender element test cannot only confirm the status of soil specimen deposited in a chamber, but also estimate the consolidation process indirectly. In order to carry out bender element test in a calibration chamber, a pair of bender elements was installed inside the chamber, using the 'ㄷ' shaped frame. For the sandy soils having various relative densities in various stress conditions, the maximum shear modulus was estimated. From the comparison with bender element test results in a triaxial testing device, testing device and procedure was validated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2008.03a
• /
• pp.119-126
• /
• 2008

Ground stiffness(shear wave velocity) is one of the key parameters in geotechnical earthquake engineering. An In-situ seismic technique has its own advantages and disadvantages over the others in stiffness measurements. By combining the crosshole and seismic cone techniques and utilizing favourable features of bender elements, a new hybrid probe has been developed in order to enhance data quality and easiness of testing. The basic structure of the probe, called "MudFork", is a fork composed of two blades, on each of which source and receiver bender elements were mounted respectively. To evaluate the disturbance caused by the penetration of the probe, shear wave velocity measurements were carried out in the Kaolinite slurry in the laboratory. Finally, the probe was penetrated in coastal mud near Incheon, Korea, using SPT(standard penetration test)rods pushed with a routine boring machine and shear wave velocity measurements were carried out. The results were verified with data from laboratory and cone testing. The performance of the probe turns out to be excellent in terms of data quality and testing convenience.