• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.27-34
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• 2024

This study was conducted to examine the feasibility of using Fe-activated wood-derived biochar as a conductive filler for manufacturing cement-based strain sensor. To evaluate the compressive and electrical properties of cement composite with 3% Fe-activated biochar, three cubic specimens of size 50 x 50 x 50mm³ and three prismatic cement-based sensors of size 40 x 40 x 80mm³ were prepared respectively. The four-probe method of electrical resistance measurement was used for cement-based sensors. For cement-based sensors with FE-activated biochar, the conductive performance such as electrical resistance and impedance under different water content and repeated compression was investigated. Results showed that the fractional changes in the DC electrical resistivity of cement-based sensors increase with increasing time and the maximum fractional changes in the resistivity decrease with increasing the moisture contents during 900s. At moisture content of 7.5% range, the conductive performance of cement composite including 3% Fe-activated biochar as a conductive filler showed the most stable, while the strain detection ability tended to decrease somewhat as the repeated compressive stress increased between repeated compressive strain and fractional change in resistivity (FCR).

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.301-310
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• 2022

Cement-based sensors have been widely used as structural health monitoring systems, however, their long-term sensing performance have not actively investigated. In this study, a deep learning-based methodology is adopted to predict the long-term piezoresistive properties of cement-based sensors. Samples with different multi-walled carbon nanotube contents (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt.%) are fabricated, and piezoresistive tests are conducted over 10,000 loading cycles to obtain the training data. Time-dependent degradation is predicted using a modified long short-term memory (LSTM) model. The effects of different model variables including the amount of training data, number of epochs, and dropout ratio on the accuracy of predictions are analyzed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated by comparing the predictions for long-term piezoresistive sensing performance with untrained experimental data. A sensitivity of 6% is experimentally examined in the sample containing 0.1 wt.% of MWCNTs, and predictions with accuracy up to 98% are found using the proposed LSTM model. Based on the experimental results, the proposed model is expected to be applied in the structural health monitoring systems to predict their long-term piezoresistice sensing performances during their service life.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.641-659
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• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) gradually becomes a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and is also an important approach for the research of the damage accumulation and disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures. It is attracting prodigious research interests and the active development interests of scientists and engineers because a great number of civil infrastructures are planned and built every year in mainland China. In a SHM system the sheer number of accompanying wires, fiber optic cables, and other physical transmission medium is usually prohibitive, particularly for such structures as offshore platforms and long-span structures. Fortunately, with recent advances in technologies in sensing, wireless communication, and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor technique has been developing rapidly and is being used gradually in the SHM of civil engineering structures. In this paper, some recent advances in the research, development, and implementation of wireless sensors for the SHM of civil infrastructures in mainland China, especially in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), are introduced. Firstly, a kind of wireless digital acceleration sensors for structural global monitoring is designed and validated in an offshore structure model. Secondly, wireless inclination sensor systems based on Frequency-hopping techniques are developed and applied successfully to swing monitoring of large-scale hook structures. Thirdly, wireless acquisition systems integrating with different sensing materials, such as Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF), strain gauge, piezoresistive stress/strain sensors fabricated by using the nickel powder-filled cement-based composite, are proposed for structural local monitoring, and validating the characteristics of the above materials. Finally, solutions to the key problem of finite energy for wireless sensors networks are discussed, with future works also being introduced, for example, the wireless sensor networks powered by corrosion signal for corrosion monitoring and rapid diagnosis for large structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.321-341
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• 2011

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring was conducted for mortar specimens under three types of static loading patterns (cubic-splitting, direct-shear and pull-out). Each of the applied loading patterns was expected to produce a particular fracture process. Subsequently, the AEs generated by various fracture or damage processes carried specific information on temporal micro-crack behaviors of concrete for post analysis, which was represented in the form of detected AE signal characteristics. Among various available characteristics of acquired AE signals, frequency content was of great interest. In this study, cement-based piezoelectric sensor (as AE transducer) and home-programmed DEcLIN monitoring system were utilized for AE monitoring on mortar. The cement-based piezoelectric sensor demonstrated enhanced sensitivity and broad frequency domain response range after being embedded into mortar specimens. This broad band characteristic of cement-based piezoelectric sensor in frequency domain response benefited the analysis of frequency content of AE. Various evaluation methods were introduced and employed to clarify the variation characteristics of AE frequency content in each test. It was found that the variation behaviors of AE frequency content exhibited a close relationship with the applied loading processes during the tests.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.259-270
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• 2022

This study explores the use of the recently developed "strain-sensing smart skin" (S⁴) method for noncontact strain measurements on cement-based samples. S⁴ sensors are single-wall carbon nanotubes dilutely embedded in thin polymer films. Strains transmitted to the nanotubes cause systematic shifts in their near-infrared fluorescence spectra, which are analyzed to deduce local strain values. It is found that with cement-based materials, this method is hampered by spectral interference from structured near-infrared cement luminescence. However, application of an opaque blocking layer between the specimen surface and the nanotube sensing film enables interference-free strain measurements. Tests were performed on cement, mortar, and concrete specimens with such modified S⁴ coatings. When specimens were subjected to uniaxial compressive stress, the spectral peak separations varied linearly and predictably with induced strain. These results demonstrate that S⁴ is a promising emerging technology for measuring strains down to ca. 30 𝜇𝜀 in concrete structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.563-581
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• 2011

The signal-based acoustic emission (AE) characterization of concrete fracture process utilizing home-programmed AE monitoring system was performed for three kinds of static loading tests (Cubic-splitting, Direct-shear and Pull-out). Each test was carried out to induce a distinct fracture mode of concrete. Apart from monitoring and recording the corresponding fracture process of concrete, various methods were utilized to distinguish the characteristics of detected AE waveform to interpret the information of fracture behavior of AE sources (i.e. micro-cracks of concrete). Further, more signal-based characters of AE in different stages were analyzed and compared in this study. This research focused on the relationship between AE signal characteristics and fracture processes of concrete. Thereafter, the mode of concrete fracture could be represented in terms of AE signal characteristics. By using cement-based piezoelectric composite sensors, the AE signals could be detected and collected with better sensitivity and minimized waveform distortion, which made the characterization of AE during concrete fracture process feasible. The continuous wavelet analysis technique was employed to analyze the wave-front of AE and figure out the frequency region of the P-wave & S-wave. Defined RA (rising amplitude), AF (average frequency) and P-wave & S-wave importance index were also introduced to study the characters of AE from concrete fracture. It was found that the characters of AE signals detected during monitoring could be used as an indication of the cracking behavior of concrete.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.4 s.30
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• pp.87-99
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate whether the moisture variation aspects in pavement materials can be analyzed based on the convenient and reliable relative humidity(RH) measurement techniques. First, the ambient RH was measured using various sensors and the accuracies and calibration methods of the sensors were examined. Then, the RH of a cement mortar specimen was measured using the reliable sensors and the data was analyzed. In addition, the feasibility of using the RH measurement sensors to analyze the permeability of pavement materials was investigated. From this study, it was found that the Hygrochron was the most appropriate sensor to measure the RH of pavement materials, and the proper installation and calibration methods were developed. The RH of the cement mortar specimen tended to approach the ambient RH and was not much affected by the variation of the ambient RH. The specimen's RH variations at the surface and at the center showed a clear time lag. The RH measurement sensor was also found to be an appropriate tool for water permeability tests, and the methodologies to evaluate the permeability of pavement materials were proposed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2017

The load-carrying capacity and structural behavior of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) structures is highly influenced by the grouting compactness in the steel tube. Due to the invisibility of the grout in the steel tube, monitoring of the grouting progress in such a structure is still a challenge. This paper develops an active sensing approach with combined piezoceramic-based smart aggregates (SA) and piezoceramic patches to monitor the grouting compactness of CFST bridge structure. A small-scale steel specimen was designed and fabricated to simulate CFST bridge structure in this research. Before casting, four SAs and two piezoceramic patches were installed in the pre-determined locations of the specimen. In the active sensing approach, selected SAs were utilized as actuators to generate designed stress waves, which were detected by other SAs or piezoceramic patch sensors. Since concrete functions as a wave conduit, the stress wave response can be only detected when the wave path between the actuator and the sensor is filled with concrete. For the sake of monitoring the grouting progress, the steel tube specimen was grouted in four stages, and each stage held three days for cement drying. Experimental results show that the received sensor signals in time domain clearly indicate the change of the signal amplitude before and after the wave path is filled with concrete. Further, a wavelet packet-based energy index matrix (WPEIM) was developed to compute signal energy of the received signals. The computed signal energies of the sensors shown in the WPEIM demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method in the monitoring of the grouting progress.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.793-807
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• 2017

Regularities of temperature variation were determined in points of subgrade of the highway. Measurement of temperature was performed by special sensors, based on the effect of thermal resistance. Regular measurements of temperature were performed for two sections of the highway with asphalt concrete and cement concrete pavements for continuous period from November 2010 to March 2016. Multi-year experimental data, which we obtained, allowed establishing of peculiarities for temperature variation in points of subgrade in time and temperature distribution in the depth for annual cycle. Characteristics were determined for winter period-depth, duration and freezing rate, duration and defreezing rate for pavement and subgrade of the highway.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.7 no.3 s.25
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• pp.79-91
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• 2005

The temperature patterns in Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements were measured and comprehensively analyzed from the beginning of the concrete placement based on the temperature measurement technique developed using innovative and inexpensive temperature measurement sensors. The temperature measurements in PCC pavements were taken at several different locations forvarious slab thicknesses. The concrete temperature patterns in the vertical and longitudinal directions of the pavement were analyzed and the effects of the pavement surface reflectivity, shading, and covering on the concrete temperatures were evaluated. The results of this study showed that the significant differences in the maximum concrete temperatures on the placement day were observed according to the concrete placement time. Since the zero-stress temperature is a function of the maximum concrete temperature on the placement day, the placement time would be an important factor that affects the behavior and performance of concrete pavements. The surface conditions of the pavement, such as the surface color, shading, and covering also affected the temperature patterns in PCC pavements significantly.