• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.783-786
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• 2010

This paper presents a finite element analysis on impedance parameters of anchor plates of structural cables under the change in cable forces. To achieve the objective, four approaches are implemented as follows: Firstly, theoretical background of electro-mechanical impedance is described. Secondly, anchor plates of structural cables are selected to experimentally examine the relationship between impedance parameters and cable force changes. Thirdly, finite element analysis is performed to verify the experimental results. Fourthly, a comparison between the experimental and numerical analysis on impedance parameters of anchor plate of structural cables under cable force changes is carried out.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.301-329
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• 2017

Impedance-based damage detection method has been known as an innovative tool with various successful implementations for structural health monitoring of civil structures. To monitor the local critical area of a structure, the impedance-based method utilizes the high-frequency impedance responses sensed by piezoelectric sensors as the local dynamic features. In this paper, current advances and future challenges of the impedance-based structural health monitoring are presented. Firstly, theoretical background of the impedance-based method is outlined. Next, an overview is given to recent advances in the wireless impedance sensor nodes, the interfacial impedance sensing devices, and the temperature-effect compensation algorithms. Various research works on these topics are reviewed to share up-to-date information on research activities and implementations of the impedance-based technique. Finally, future research challenges of the technique are discussed including the applicability of wireless sensing technology, the predetermination of effective frequency bands, the sensing region of impedance responses, the robust compensation of noise and temperature effects, the quantification of damage severity, and long-term durability of sensors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2010

In this study, a technique that uses wireless impedance sensor nodes is proposed to monitor tensile force of structural cable. To achieve this goal, the following approaches were implemented. First, a wireless impedance sensor node was designed for automated and cost-efficient prestress-loss monitoring. Second, an impedance-based algorithm was embedded in the wireless impedance sensor node for autonomous structural health monitoring of structural cables. Third, a tensile force monitoring technique that uses an interface plate for structural cables was proposed to overcome the limitations of the wireless impedance sensor node such as its narrow-band measurable frequency ranges. Finally, the applicability of the wireless impedance sensor node and the technique that uses the interface washer were evaluated in a lab-scaled prestressed concrete (PSC) girder model with internal and external tendons for which several prestress-loss scenarios were experimentally monitored with the wireless impedance sensor nodes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.501-523
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• 2016

Electromechanical impedance (EMI) based structural health monitoring is performed by measuring the variation in the impedance due to the structural local damage. The impedance signals are acquired from the piezoelectric patches that are bonded on the structural surface. The impedance variation, which is directly related to the mechanical properties of the structure, indicates the presence of local structural damage. Two traditional EMI-based damage detection methods are based on calculating the difference between the measured impedance signals in the frequency domain from the baseline and the current structures. In this paper, a new structural damage detection approach by analyzing the time domain impedance responses is proposed. The measured time domain responses from the piezoelectric transducers will be used for analysis. With the use of the Time Frequency Autoregressive Moving Average (TFARMA) model, a damage index based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is defined to identify the existence of the structural local damage. Experimental studies on a space steel truss bridge model in the laboratory are conducted to verify the proposed approach. Four piezoelectric transducers are attached at different locations and excited by a sweep-frequency signal. The impedance responses at different locations are analyzed with TFARMA model to investigate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is very sensitive and robust in detecting the bolt damage in the gusset plates of steel truss bridges.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.373-380
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• 2004

This paper presents the feasibility of an impedance-based damage detection technique using piezoelectric (PZT) transducers for civil infrastructures such as steel bridges. The impedance-based damage detection method is based on monitoring the changes in the electrical impedance. Those changes in the electrical impedance are due to the electro-mechanical coupling property of the piezoelectric material and structure. An effective integrated structural health monitoring system must include a statistical process of damage detection that is automated and real time assessment of damage in the structure. Once measured, damage sensitive features from this impedance change can be statistically quantified for various damage cases. The results of the experimental study on three kinds of structural members show that cracks or loosened bolts/nuts near the PZT sensors may be effectively detected by monitoring the shifts of the resonant frequencies. The root mean square (RMS) deviations of impedance functions between before and after damages were also considered as a damage indicator. The subsequent statistical methods using the impedance signature of the PZT sensors were investigated.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.21-26
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• 2007

This paper presents an impedance-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technique considering temperature effects. The temperature variation results in a significant impedance variation, particularly both horizontal and vertical shifts in the frequency domain, which may lead to erroneous diagnostic results of real structures. A new damage detection strategy has been proposed based on the correlation coefficient (CC) between the reference impedance data and a concurrent impedance data with an effective frequency shift which is defined as the shift causing the maximum correlation. The proposed technique was applied to a lab-sized steel truss bridge member under the temperature varying environment. From an experimental study, it has been demonstrated that a narrow cut inflicted artificially to the steel structure was successfully detected using the proposed SHM strategy.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.489-504
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• 2012

For the safety of prestressed structures such as cable-stayed bridges and prestressed concrete bridges, it is very important to ensure the prestress force of cable or tendon. The loss of prestress force could significantly reduce load carrying capacity of the structure and even result in structural collapse. The objective of this study is to present a smart PZT-interface for wireless impedance-based prestress-loss monitoring in tendon-anchorage connection. Firstly, a smart PZT-interface is newly designed for sensitively monitoring of electro-mechanical impedance changes in tendon-anchorage subsystem. To analyze the effect of prestress force, an analytical model of tendon-anchorage is described regarding to the relationship between prestress force and structural parameters of the anchorage contact region. Based on the analytical model, an impedance-based method for monitoring of prestress-loss is conducted using the impedance-sensitive PZT-interface. Secondly, wireless impedance sensor node working on Imote2 platforms, which is interacted with the smart PZT-interface, is outlined. Finally, experiment on a lab-scale tendon-anchorage of a prestressed concrete girder is conducted to evaluate the performance of the smart PZT-interface along with the wireless impedance sensor node on prestress-loss detection. Frequency shift and cross correlation deviation of impedance signature are utilized to estimate impedance variation due to prestress-loss.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.689-709
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• 2010

In this paper, a low cost, low power but multifunctional wireless sensor node is presented for the impedance-based SHM using piezoelectric sensors. Firstly, a miniaturized impedance measuring chip device is utilized for low cost and low power structural excitation/sensing. Then, structural damage detection/sensor self-diagnosis algorithms are embedded on the on-board microcontroller. This sensor node uses the power harvested from the solar energy to measure and analyze the impedance data. Simultaneously it monitors temperature on the structure near the piezoelectric sensor and battery power consumption. The wireless sensor node is based on the TinyOS platform for operation, and users can take MATLAB$^{(R)}$ interface for the control of the sensor node through serial communication. In order to validate the performance of this multifunctional wireless impedance sensor node, a series of experimental studies have been carried out for detecting loose bolts and crack damages on lab-scale steel structural members as well as on real steel bridge and building structures. It has been found that the proposed sensor nodes can be effectively used for local wireless health monitoring of structural components and for constructing a low-cost and multifunctional SHM system as "place and forget" wireless sensors.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.305-318
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• 2008

The development of a digital signal processor based prototype is described in relation to continuing efforts for realizing a fully self-contained active sensor system utilizing impedance-based structural health monitoring. The impedance method utilizes a piezoelectric material bonded to the structure under observation to act as both an actuator and sensor. By monitoring the electrical impedance of the piezoelectric material, insights into the health of the structured can be inferred. The active sensing system detailed in this paper interrogates a structure utilizing a self-sensing actuator and a low cost impedance method. Here, all the data processing, storage, and analysis is performed at the sensor location. A wireless transmitter is used to communicate the current status of the structure. With this new low cost, field deployable impedance analyzer, reliance on traditional expensive, bulky, and power consuming impedance analyzers is no longer necessary. A complete power analysis of the prototype is performed to determine the validity of power harvesting being utilized for self-containment of the hardware. Experimental validation of the prototype on a representative structure is also performed and compared to traditional methods of damage detection.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.41-55
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• 2015

This study proposes a laser based impedance measurement system and impedance based pipe corrosion and bolt-loosening monitoring techniques under temperature variations. For impedance measurement, the laser based impedance measurement system is optimized and adopted in this paper. First, a modulated laser beam is radiated to a photodiode, converting the laser beam into an electric signal. Then, the electric signal is applied to a MFC transducer attached on a target structure for ultrasonic excitation. The corresponding impedance signals are measured, re-converted into a laser beam, and radiated back to the other photodiode located in a data interrogator. The transmitted impedance signals are treated with an outlier analysis using generalized extreme value (GEV) statistics to reliably signal off structural damage. Validation of the proposed technique is carried out to detect corrosion and bolt-loosening in lab-scale carbon steel elbow pipes under varying temperatures. It has been demonstrated that the proposed technique has a potential to be used for structural health monitoring (SHM) of pipe structures.