• 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.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.339-356
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• 2014

This study has been motivated to evaluate the practicality of numerical simulation of impedance monitoring for damage detection in steel column connection. In order to achieve the objective, the following approaches are implemented. Firstly, the theory of electro-mechanical (E/M) impedance responses and impedance-based damage monitoring method are outlined. Secondly, the feasibility of numerical simulation of impedance monitoring is verified for several pre-published experimental examples on steel beams, cracked aluminum beams, and aluminum round plates. Undamaged and damaged steel and aluminum beams are simulated to compare to experimental impedance responses. An aluminum round plate with PZT patch in center is simulated to investigate sensitive range of impedance responses. Finally, numerical simulation of the impedance-based damage monitoring is performed for a steel column connection in which connection bolts are damaged. From the numerical simulation test, the applicability of the impedance-based monitoring to the target steel column connection can be evaluated.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.410-410
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• 2000

Impedance control is recognised as one of the most proper control scheme to carry out the assembly tasks, since it can control the dynamic relationship between the manipulator and environment directly. However, it is well known that the contact force cannot be controlled directly using the impedance control. Also impedance parameters should be properly defined depending on the task to be performed. We propose a new position based impedance control, which has self-adjusted impedance parameters and can control the contact force explicitly, Impedance parameters, as time-varying parameters, are adjusted automatically based on the measured contact force and the position error during the task. A proposed algorithm was implemented on the peg-in-hole task with the industrial manipulator. We shows the effectiveness of proposed control method experimentally.

• 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.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1163-1175
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• 2016

In recent years, microgrids have been the focus of considerable attention in distributed energy distribution. Microgrids contain a large number of power electronic devices that can potentially cause negative impedance instability. Harmonic impedance is an important tool to analyze stability and power quality of microgrids. Harmonic impedance can also be used in harmonic source localization. Precise measurement of microgrid impedance and analysis of system stability with impedances are essential to increase stability. In this study, we introduce a new square wave current injection method for impedance measurement and stability analysis. First, three stability criteria based on impedance parameters are presented. Then, we present a new impedance measurement method for microgrids based on square wave current injection. By injecting an unbalanced line-to-line current between two lines of the AC system, the method determines all impedance information in the traditional synchronous reference frame d-q model. Finally, the microgrid impedances of each part and the overall microgrid are calculated to verify the measurement results. In the experiments, a simulation model of a three-phase AC microgrid is developed using PSCAD, and the AC system harmonic impedance measuring device is developed.

• 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.

• 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.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.560-563
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• 1997

The conventional impedance control has been known to have the following problems: it has lack of specifying force directly and unknown environment stiffness has to be known priori in order to specify the reference trajectory. In this paper, new impedance force control that can control a desired force directly under unknown stiffness is proposed. A new nonlinear impedance function is developed based on estimation of unknown stiffness from force and position measurements. The nonlinear characteristics of the proposed impedance function are analyzed based on unknown environment position. Simulation studies with robot manipulator are carried out to test analytical results.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.407-412
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• 2015

This paper presents the design of a lab-built powered knee prosthesis based on a BLDC motor, a sensored impedance control using a force sensor, and a sensorless impedance control through torque estimation. Firstly, we describe the structure of the lab-built powered knee prosthesis and its limitations. Secondly, we decompose the gait cycle into five stages and apply the position-based impedance control for the powered knee prosthesis. Thirdly, we perform an experiment for the torque estimation and the sensorless impedance control of the prosthesis. The experimental results show that we can use the torque estimation to control the low impedance during the swing phase, although the estimated torque data has a delay compared with the measured torque by a load cell.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2017

In this study, the severity of damage in tendon anchorage caused by the loss of tendon forces is quantitatively identified by using the PZT interface-based impedance monitoring technique. Firstly, a 2-DOF impedance model is newly designed to represent coupled dynamic responses of PZT interface-host structure. Secondly, the 2-DOF impedance model is adopted for the tendon anchorage system. A prototype of PZT interface is designed for the impedance monitoring. Then impedance signatures are experimentally measured from a laboratory-scale tendon anchorage structure with various tendon forces. Finally, damage severities of the tendon anchorage induced by the variation of tendon forces are quantitatively identified from the phase-by-phase model updating process, from which the change in impedance signatures is correlated to the change in structural properties.