• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.32-40
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• 1992

This study shows how the finite element method for the structural problems could be applied in the electromechanical impedance analysis of an in-air piezoelectric cylinder transducer and then compares the numerical results by the FEM with the measured results using the impedance analyzer. The results also show that the comparison between both results could be applied to examine the mechanical properties of the added unknown material to transducer such as an acoustic window.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Information Technology Applications Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.215-218
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• 2005

We have investigated on the development of 2-2 piezocomposites that have better piezoelectric activity and lower acoustic impedance than those of conventional piezoceramics. In this study, we have investigated the piezoelectric and acoustic properties of 2-2 piezocomposites sensor which were fabricated using dice-and-fill technique for the different volume fraction of PZT. The resonance characteristics measured by an impedance analyzer were similar to the analysis of finite element method. The resonance characteristics and the electromechanical coupling factor were the best when the volume fraction PZT was 0.6. It also showed the highest result from the standpoint of sensitivity, bandwidth and ring-down property and so on at the same condition. The specific characteristics shows that the 2-2 piezocomposites turned out to be superior to the ultrasonic sensor composed by single phase PZT.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.319-338
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• 2015

The electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique makes use of surface-bonded lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patches as impedance transducers measuring impedance variations monitored on host structural components. The present experimental work further evaluate an alternative to the conventional EMI technique which performs measurements of the variations in the output voltage of PZT transducers rather than computing electromechanical impedance (or admittance) itself. This paper further evaluates a variant of the EMI approach presented in a previous work of the present authors, suitable, for low-cost concrete structures monitoring applications making use of a credit card-sized Raspberry Pi single board computer as core hardware unit. This monitoring approach is also deployed by introducing a new damage identification index based on the ratio between the area of the 2-D error ellipse of specific probability of EMI-based measurements containment over that of the 2-D error circle of equivalent probability. Experimental results of damages occurring in concrete cubic and beam specimens are investigated under increasing loading conditions. Results illustrate that the proposed technique is an efficient approach for identification and early detection of damage in concrete structures.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.607-614
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• 2012

In this study, the evolution of the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) of a piezoelectric (PZT) patch embedded in fresh cement paste was investigated to discuss the possibility of monitoring the setting process of cement-based materials using an EMI sensing technique. A tailored thin square PZT patch was embedded in cement paste before casting, and EMI signatures of the embedded patch were continuously measured from casting up to 12 hours. A standard penetration resistance test was performed to compare and correlate the evolution of EMI during the setting process. The results showed that EMI responses differ according to the age of the cement paste, and that the behavior of the EMI resonance peak has a clear correlation with the penetration resistance of the cement paste. Based on the results, it is concluded that an EMI sensing technique using embedded PZT patch can be effectively applied to monitor the setting process of cement-based materials.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.349-364
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• 2013

Recently, researchers in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) have been rigorously striving to replace the conventional NDE techniques with the smart material based SHM techniques, employing smart materials such as piezoelectric materials. For instance, the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique employing piezo-impedance (lead zirconate titanate, PZT) transducer is known for its sensitivity in detecting local damage. For practical applications, various external factors such as fluctuations of temperature and loading, affecting the effectiveness of the EMI technique ought to be understood and compensated. This paper aims at investigating the damage monitoring capability of EMI technique in the presence of axial stress with fixed boundary condition. A compensation technique using effective frequency shift (EFS) by cross-correlation analysis was incorporated to compensate the effect of loading and boundary stiffening. Experimental tests were conducted by inducing damages on lab-sized aluminium beams in the presence of tensile and compressive forces. Two types of damages, crack propagation and bolts loosening were simulated. With EFS for compensation, both cross-correlation coefficient (CC) index and reduction in peak frequency were found to be efficient in characterizing damages in the presence of varying axial loading.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.354-360
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• 2002

The piezoelectric composites had many advantages in comparison with conventional piezoelectric ceramics and piezopolymers for ultrasonic transducers used in NDT and in medical ultrasionic imaging. The electromechanical coupling coefficient should be high and the acoustic impedance should be low in these applications. However, the cross-coupling with spurious oscillations caused by laterally running plate waves exhibited complex motions in the surface of piezoelectric composites with coarse lateral spatial scale. The thickness mode electromechanical coupling coefficient of 1-3type of piezoelectric compoistes were 0.36 to 0.64, and the acoustic impedance of them were 9.8 to 22.7 MRayl. The lateral resonance frequency of 1-3 type piezoelectric composites shifted to high frequency region with decreasing lateral spatial scale.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2018

A new type of cascade sandwiched piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer is presented and studied. The cascade transducer is composed of two traditional longitudinally sandwiched piezoelectric transducers, which are connected together in series mechanically and in parallel electrically. Based on the analytical method, the electromechanical equivalent circuit of the cascade transducer is derived and the resonance/anti-resonance frequency equations are obtained. The impedance characteristics and the vibrational modes of the transducer are analyzed. By means of numerical method, the dependency of the resonance/anti-resonance frequency and the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient on the geometrical dimensions of the cascade transducer are studied and some interesting conclusions are obtained. Two prototypes of the cascade transducers are designed and made; the resonance/anti-resonance frequency is measured. It is shown that the analytical resonance/anti-resonance frequencies are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is expected that this kind of cascade transducer can be used in large power and high intensity ultrasonic applications, such as ultrasonic liquid processing, ultrasonic metal machining and ultrasonic welding and soldering.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.237-253
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• 2017

Among various structural health monitoring technologies, impedance-based damage detection has been recognized as a promising tool for diagnosing critical members of civil structures. Since the piezoelectric transducers used in the impedance-based technique should be bonded to the surface of the structure using bonding layers (e.g., epoxy layer), it is hard to maintain the as-built condition of the bonding layers and to reconfigure the devices if needed. This study presents an experimental investigation by using magnetically attached PZT-interface for the impedance-based damage detection in bolted girder connections. Firstly, the principle of the impedance-based damage detection via the PZT-interface device is outlined. Secondly, a PZT-interface attachment method in which permanent magnets are used to replace the conventional bonding layers is proposed. Finally, the use of the magnetic attraction for the PZT-interface is experimentally evaluated via detecting the bolt-loosening events in a bolted girder connection. Also, the sensitivity of impedance signatures obtained from the PZT-interface is analyzed with regard to the interface's material.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.690-695
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• 2005

We have investigated on the development of 2-2 mode piezocomposites that have better piezoelectric activity and lower acoustic impedance than those of conventional piezoceramics. In this study, we have investigated the electrical properties and acoustic impedance of 2-2 mode piezocomposite which were fabricated using the dice-and-fill technique for the different volume fractions of PZT The volume shrinkage of polymer is an important factor in 2-2 mode piezocomposites fabrication. The thickness mode electromechanical coupling factor($\kappa_t$) of PZT was compared with that of piezocomposites. It was shown that the 2-2 mode piezocomposites were much better than the PZT only. The acoustic impedance of 2-2 mode piezocomposites decreased linearly when PZT volume fraction was decreased.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2005

We studied the characteristics of impedance and electromechanical coupling coefficient in ZnO and AIN thin films by using resonance frequency spectrum method. The response peak of impedance decreased with the decrease of thickness of piezoelectrics, the number of mode of response peak decreased with the decrease of substrate thickness. An error of Kt² estimated from input Kt² increased as the thickness of piezoelectrics decreased and the thickness of substrate increased. Also, the error was increased in case of a large acoustic impedance of substrate. It was found that the composite resonator operating in optimized condition could be designed through the resonance frequency spectrum analysis of composited resonator consisted of piezoelectric thin film and substrate.