• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

The operation of subway trains induces secondary structure-borne vibrations in the nearby underground spaces. The vibration, along with the associated noise, can cause annoyance and adverse physical, physiological, and psychological effects on humans in dense urban environments. Traditional tethered instruments restrict the rapid measurement and assessment on such vibration effect. This paper presents a novel approach for Wireless Smart Sensor (WSS)-based autonomous evaluation system for the subway train-induced vibrations. The system was implemented on a MEMSIC's Imote2 platform, using a SHM-H high-sensitivity accelerometer board stacked on top. A new embedded application VibrationLevelCalculation, which determines the International Organization for Standardization defined weighted acceleration level, was added into the Illinois Structural Health Monitoring Project Service Toolsuite. The system was verified in a large underground space, where a nearby subway station is a good source of ground excitation caused by the running subway trains. Using an on-board processor, each sensor calculated the distribution of vibration levels within the testing zone, and sent the distribution of vibration level by radio to display it on the central server. Also, the raw time-histories and frequency spectrum were retrieved from the WSS leaf nodes. Subsequently, spectral vibration levels in the one-third octave band, characterizing the vibrating influence of different frequency components on human bodies, was also calculated from each sensor node. Experimental validation demonstrates that the proposed system is efficient for autonomously evaluating the subway train-induced ambient vibration of underground spaces, and the system holds the potential of greatly reducing the laboring of dynamic field testing.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.32-40
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• 2018

An impact localization for a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite plate was performed using the multiplexed fiber bragg grating (FBG) sensors and the error-outlier based impact localization algorithm. We found that the optimal impact localization with the maximum error of 31.82 mm and the averaged error of 6.31 mm are obtained when the error threshold (ET) and constant level (CL) are 0.3 nm and 110, respectively. Moreover, the detailed process of impact localization under certain optimal parameters and the relevant results were thoroughly investigated. We conclude that the multiplexed FBG sensors and the error-outlier based impact localization algorithm are suitable for an impact localization on composite structures, and expect that they can be utilized for various structural health monitoring (SHM) in the future.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.429-434
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• 2023

In this study, aimed at improving the existing acoustic emission sensor for real time monitoring, a macro-fiber composite (MFC) transducer was employed as the acoustic emission sensor in the gas leak detection system. Prior to implementation, structural analysis was conducted to optimize the MFC's design. Consequently, the flexibility of the MFC facilitated excellent adherence to curved pipes, enabling the reception of acoustic emission (AE) signals without complications. Analysis of AE signals revealed substantial variations in parameter values for both high-pressure and low-pressure leaks. Notably, in the parameters of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) graph, the change amounted to 120% to 626% for high-pressure leaks compared to the case without leaks, and approximately 9% to 22% for low-pressure leaks. Furthermore, depending on the distance from the leak site, the magnitude of change in parameters tended to decrease as the distance increased. As the results, in the future, not only will it be possible to detect a leak by detecting the amount of parameter change in the future, but it will also be possible to identify the location of the leak from the amount of change.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.549-562
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• 2017

The US railroad network carries 40% of the nation's total freight. Railroad bridges are the most critical part of the network infrastructure and, therefore, must be properly maintained for the operational safety. Railroad managers inspect bridges by measuring displacements under train crossing events to assess their structural condition and prioritize bridge management and safety decisions accordingly. The displacement of a railroad bridge under train crossings is one parameter of interest to railroad bridge owners, as it quantifies a bridge's ability to perform safely and addresses its serviceability. Railroad bridges with poor track conditions will have amplified displacements under heavy loads due to impacts between the wheels and rail joints. Under these circumstances, vehicle-track-bridge interactions could cause excessive bridge displacements, and hence, unsafe train crossings. If displacements during train crossings could be measured objectively, owners could repair or replace less safe bridges first. However, data on bridge displacements is difficult to collect in the field as a fixed point of reference is required for measurement. Accelerations can be used to estimate dynamic displacements, but to date, the pseudo-static displacements cannot be measured using reference-free sensors. This study proposes a method to estimate total transverse displacements of a railroad bridge under live train loads using acceleration and tilt data at the top of the exterior pile bent of a standard timber trestle, where train derailment due to excessive lateral movement is the main concern. Researchers used real bridge transverse displacement data under train traffic from varying bridge serviceability levels. This study explores the design of a new bridge deck-pier experimental model that simulates the vibrations of railroad bridges under traffic using a shake table for the input of train crossing data collected from the field into a laboratory model of a standard timber railroad pile bent. Reference-free sensors measured both the inclination angle and accelerations of the pile cap. Various readings are used to estimate the total displacements of the bridge using data filtering. The estimated displacements are then compared to the true responses of the model measured with displacement sensors. An average peak error of 10% and a root mean square error average of 5% resulted, concluding that this method can cost-effectively measure the total displacement of railroad bridges without a fixed reference.