• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.307-321
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• 2015

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of an innovative surface-mount sensor, made of a piezoelectric disc (PZT sensor), as a consistent source for surface wave velocity and transmission measurements in concrete structures. To this end, one concrete slab with lateral dimensions of 1500 by 1500 mm and a thickness of 200 mm was prepared in the laboratory. The concrete slab had a notch-type, surface-breaking crack at its center, with depths increasing from 0 to 100 mm at stepwise intervals of 10 mm. A PZT sensor was attached to the concrete surface and used to generate incident surface waves for surface wave measurements. Two accelerometers were used to measure the surface waves. Signals generated by the PZT sensors show a broad bandwidth with a center frequency around 40 kHz, and very good signal consistency in the frequency range from 0 to 100 kHz. Furthermore, repeatability of the surface wave velocity and transmission measurements is significantly improved compared to that obtained using manual impact sources. In addition, the PZT sensors are demonstrated to be effective for monitoring an actual surface-breaking crack in a concrete beam specimen subjected to various external loadings (compressive and flexural loading with stepwise increases). The findings in this study demonstrate that the surface mount sensor has great potential as a consistent source for surface wave velocity and transmission measurements for automated health monitoring of concrete structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.118-118
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• 2009

Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) is one of promising materials for MEMS structures because it has very good electrical and mechanical properties as well as possibility of making various three dimensional (3D) structures. In this work, piezoelectric pressure sensors based on hybrid LTCC technology were presented. The LTCC diaphragms with thickness of 400 um were fabricated by laminating 12 green tapes which consist of alumina and glass particle in an organic binder. The piezoelectric sensing layer consists of $Pb(ZrTi)O_3$ (PZT) thin film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering method on between top and bottom Au electrodes. The results showed that the fabrication method is very suitable for pressure sensor applications. The PZT films deposited on LTCC diaphragms were successfully grown and were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction method (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.191-209
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• 2008

A structural monitoring system based on cheap and wireless monitoring system is investigated in this paper. Due to low-cost and low power consumption, micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) is suitable for wireless monitoring and the use of MEMS and wireless communication can reduce system cost and simplify the installation for structural health monitoring. For system identification using wireless MEMS, a finite element (FE) model updating method through correlation with the initial analytical model of the structure to the measured one is used. The system identification using wireless MEMS is evaluated experimentally using a three storey frame model. Identification results are compared to ones using data measured from traditional accelerometers and results indicate that the system identification using wireless MEMS estimates system parameters with reasonable accuracy. Another smart sensor considered in this paper for structural health monitoring is Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) which is a type of piezoelectric material. PZT patches have been applied for the health monitoring of structures owing to their simultaneous sensing/actuating capability. In this paper, the system identification for building structures by using PZT patches functioning as sensor only is presented. The FE model updating method is applied with the experimental data obtained using PZT patches, and the results are compared to ones obtained using wireless MEMS system. Results indicate that sensing by PZT patches yields reliable system identification results even though limited information is available.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.435-440
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• 2001

Piezoelectric solids such as PZT and PLZT have been widely used as sensors and actuators for various smart systems. One of the problems arising in actuator applications is that a larger actuation force needs to be produced from a small system. This naturally leads to local electric field or stress concentration and thereby resulting in a nonlinear behavior inside the system, Hence, it becomes more important to predict the nonlinear behavior of piezoelectric solids. In this paper we investigate the mechanism of nonlinear behavior in those materials and suggest a constitutive and finite element model. The calculation results obtained from the model seem to be qualitatively consistent with experiments.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.453-460
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• 2002

Piezoelectric solids such as PZT and PLZT have been widely used as sensors or actuators for various smart structural systems. The main problem occurring in the applications is that a larger and larger actuation force is required to maximize the function of the system. This naturally leads to local concentrations of electric or stress fields near crack tips or geometric irregularities and thereby results in a nonlinear behavior of the system Hence, it becomes more important to Predict the nonlinear behavior of piezoelectric solids In this Paper we investigate the micro-mechanism of nonlinear behavior in piezoelectric materials and propose constitutive equations. The calculation results obtained from an associated finite element Program are shown to be qualitatively consistent with experiments.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2008

Advances in low power design open the possibility to harvest energy from the environment to power electronic circuits. Electrical energy can be harvested from piezoelectric transducer. Piezoelectric materials can be used as mechanisms to transfer mechanical energy usually vibrating system into electrical energy that can be stored and used to power other devices. Micro- to milli-watts power can be generated from vibrating system. We developed definitive and analytical models to predict the power generated from a cantilever beam attached with piezoelectric transducer. Analytical models are pin-force method, enhanced pin-force method and Euler-Bernoulli method. Harmonic oscillations and random noise will be the two different forcing functions used to drive each system. It has been selected the best model for generating electric power based upon the analytical results obtained.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 2018

Increasing interest in prognostics and health management has heightened the need for wireless sensor networks (WSN) with efficient power sources. Piezoelectric energy harvesters using Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) are one of the candidate power sources for WSNs as they efficiently convert mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy. These types of devices are resonated at a specific frequency, which has a significant impact on the amount of energy harvested, by external vibration. Hence, precise prediction of mechanical deformation including modal analysis of piezoelectric devices is crucial for estimating the energy generated under specific conditions. In this study, an experimental vibrational system capable of controlling a wide range of frequencies and accelerations was designed to generate mechanical vibration for piezoelectric energy harvesters. In conjunction with MATLAB, the system automatically finds the resonance frequency of harvesters. A small accelerometer and non-contact laser displacement sensor are employed to investigate the mechanical deformation of harvesters. Mechanical deformation under various frequencies and accelerations were investigated and analyzed based on data from two types of sensors. The results verify that the proposed system can be employed to carry out vibration experiments for piezoelectric harvesters and measurement of their mechanical deformation.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

In this paper, we propose a fabrication technique for enhanced electrical properties of piezoelectric thick films with excellent patterning property using sol-infiltration and a direct-patterning process. To achieve the needs of high-density and direct-patterning at a low sintering temperature (< $850^{\circ}C$), a photosensitive lead zirconate titanate (PZT) solution was infiltrated into a screen-printed thick film. The direct-patterned PZT films were clearly formed on a locally screen-printed thick film, using a photomask and UV light. Because UV light is scattered in the screen-printed thick film of a porous powder-based structure, there are needs to optimize the photosensitive PZT sol infiltration process for obtaining the enhanced properties of PZT thick film. By optimizing the concentration of the photosensitive PZT sol, UV irradiation time, and solvent developing time, the hybrid films prepared with 0.35 M of PZT sol, 4 min of UV irradiation and 15 sec solvent developing time, showed a very dense with a large grain size at a low sintering temperature of $800^{\circ}C$. It also illustrated enhanced electrical properties (remnant polarization, $P_r$, and coercive field, $E_c$). The $P_r$ value was over four times higher than those of the screen-printed films. These films integrated on silicon wafer substrate could give a potential of applications in micro-sensors and -actuators.

• 정보저장시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.22-25
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• 2005

In this research, a wafar-level transfer method of cantilever array on a conventional CMOS circuit has been developed for high density probe-based data storage. The transferred cantilevers were silicon nitride ($Si_3N_4$) cantilevers integrated with poly silicon heaters and piezoelectric sensors, called thermo-piezoelectric $Si_3N_4$ cantilevers. In this process, we did not use a SOI wafer but a conventional p-type wafer for the fabrication of the thermo-piezoelectric $Si_3N_4$ cantilever arrays. Furthermore, we have developed a very simple transfer process, requiring only one step of cantilever transfer process for the integration of the CMOS wafer and cantilevers. Using this process, we have fabricated a single thermo-piezoelectric $Si_3N_4$ cantilever, and recorded 65nm data bits on a PMMA film and confirmed a charge signal at 5nm of cantilever deflection. And we have successfully applied this method to transfer 34 by 34 thermo-piezoelectric $Si_3N_4$ cantilever arrays on a CMOS wafer. We obtained reading signals from one of the cantilevers.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.835-851
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• 2015

This paper presents theoretical and experimental evaluation of the structural health monitoring (SHM) capability of piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) at elevated temperatures. This is important because the technologies for structural sensing and monitoring need to account for the thermal effect and compensate for it. Permanently installed PWAS transducers have been One of the extensively employed sensor technologies for in-situ continuous SHM. In this paper, the electro-mechanical impedance spectroscopy (EMIS) method has been utilized as a dynamic descriptor of PWAS behavior and as a high frequency standing wave local modal technique. Another SHM technology utilizes PWAS as far-field transient transducers to excite and detect guided waves propagating through the structure. This paper first presents how the EMIS method is used to qualify and quantify circular PWAS resonators in an increasing temperature environment up to 230 deg C. The piezoelectric material degradation with temperature was investigated and trends of variation with temperature were deduced from experimental measurements. These effects were introduced in a wave propagation simulation software called Wave Form Revealer (WFR). The thermal effects on the substrate material were also considered. Thus, the changes in the propagating guided wave signal at various temperatures could be simulated. The paper ends with summary and conclusions followed by suggestions for further work.