• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2009

This paper presents a novel approach for Lamb wave based structural health monitoring(SHM) in honeycomb aluminum panels. In this study, a suite of three signal processing algorithms are employed to improve the damage detection capability. The signal processing algorithms used include wavelet attenuation, correlation coefficients of power density spectra, and triangulation of reflected waves. Piezoelectric transducers are utilized as both sensors and actuators for Lamb wave propagation. These SHM algorithms are built into a MatLab interface that integrates and automates the hardware and software operations and displays the results for each algorithm to the analyst for side by side comparison. The effectiveness of each of these signal processing algorithms for SHM in honeycomb aluminum panels under a variety of damage conditions is then demonstrated.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.374-379
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• 2018

The piezocomposite transducer is widely used because it is highly efficient in transforming electric energy into mechanical energy, and its frequency range is broader than that of other types of ultrasound transducers. A general piezocomposite transducer is composed of an acoustic lens, impedance matching layers, piezoelectric materials, and backing layers. When an input voltage is applied to a piezoelectric material as an active material, it generates sound waves while vibrating. At that time, an impedance matching layer helps the sound waves to propagate forward while reducing the impedance mismatch that may occur at the interface between the active material and its front material. The impedance mismatch has a negative effect on the signal of an ultrasound transducer; thus, it is important to design a matching layer to overcome the issue. In this study, an optimized feature of a matching layer with gradient properties is studied. An objective function is defined to minimize both the average and the deviation of the reflection coefficients that are functions of the frequencies. As a result, an improvement in the signal characteristics with respect to the sensitivity and bandwidth is reported.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.97-119
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• 2013

This paper presents numerical and experimental results on the use of guided waves for structural health monitoring (SHM) of crack growth during a fatigue test in a thick steel plate used for civil engineering application. Numerical simulation, analytical modeling, and experimental tests are used to prove that piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS) can perform active SHM using guided wave pitch-catch method and passive SHM using acoustic emission (AE). AE simulation was performed with the multi-physic FEM (MP-FEM) approach. The MP-FEM approach permits that the output variables to be expressed directly in electric terms while the two-ways electromechanical conversion is done internally in the MP-FEM formulation. The AE event was simulated as a pulse of defined duration and amplitude. The electrical signal measured at a PWAS receiver was simulated. Experimental tests were performed with PWAS transducers acting as passive receivers of AE signals. An AE source was simulated using 0.5-mm pencil lead breaks. The PWAS transducers were able to pick up AE signal with good strength. Subsequently, PWAS transducers and traditional AE transducer were applied to a 12.7-mm CT specimen subjected to accelerated fatigue testing. Active sensing in pitch catch mode on the CT specimen was applied between the PWAS transducers pairs. Damage indexes were calculated and correlated with actual crack growth. The paper finishes with conclusions and suggestions for further work.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.32-37
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• 2007

This paper proposes a dual-mode ultra precision positioning system for machine tools and measuring machines. The objective was to position a machine table with a picometer order of resolution, i.e., pico-positioning. A twist-roller friction drive (TFD) was used in coarse-mode positioning. The TFD, which was driven by an AC servomotor, is a kind of lead screw in mechanical terms, and several centimeters of machine table movement was controlled with a nanometer order of positioning resolution. To eliminate lateral vibration caused by the TFD, an active aerostatic coupling driven by piezoelectric actuators was inserted between the TFD and the machine table. This active aerostatic coupling was also applied as a feed drive device for fine-mode positioning; in the fine mode, the positioning resolution was 50 pm. Factors influencing pico-positioning, such as how noise from displacement sensors and vibrations in the aerostatic guideway affect positioning resolution, are discussed.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.24.2-27
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• 1996

This paper is a study on the fuzzy force control of a miniature gripper driven by piezoelectric bimorph actuator. The system is composed of two flexible cantilevers, a stepping motor, a laser displacement transducer and two semiconductor force sensors attached to the beams. Obtained results show that the present artificial finger system works well as a miniature gripper, which produces approximately 0.06N force in the maximum. Further, the fuzzy position/force control algorithm is applied to the soft-handing gripper for stable grasping of a object. It revealed that the fuzzy rule-based controller be efficient controller for the stable drive of the flexible miniature gripper. It also showed that two semiconductor strain gauges located in the flexible beam play an important roles for force control, position control and vibration suppression control.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.185-215
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• 2005

Advanced signal processing techniques have been long introduced and widely used in structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). In our research, we applied several signal processing approaches for our embedded ultrasonic structural radar (EUSR) system to obtain improved damage detection results. The EUSR algorithm was developed to detect defects within a large area of a thin-plate specimen using a piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS) array. In the EUSR, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) was first applied for signal de-noising. Secondly, after constructing the EUSR data, the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) were used for the time-frequency analysis. Then the results were compared thereafter. We eventually chose continuous wavelet transform to filter out from the original signal the component with the excitation signal's frequency. Third, cross correlation method and Hilbert transform were applied to A-scan signals to extract the time of flight (TOF) of the wave packets from the crack. Finally, the Hilbert transform was again applied to the EUSR data to extract the envelopes for final inspection result visualization. The EUSR system was implemented in LabVIEW. Several laboratory experiments have been conducted and have verified that, with the advanced signal processing approaches, the EUSR has enhanced damage detection ability.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.508-514
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• 2022

Piezoelectric composite films which are enabled by inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials-embedded polymer, have attracted enormous attention as a sustainable power source for low powered electronics, because of their ease of fabrication and flexible nature. However, the absorption of applied stress by the soft polymeric matrices is a major issue that must be solved to expand the fields of piezoelectric composite applications. Herein, a flexible and porous piezoelectric composite (piezoelectric sponge) comprised of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane was developed using template method to enhance the energy conversion efficiency by minimizing the stress that vanishes into the polymer matrix. In the porous structure, effective stress transfer can occur between the piezoelectric active materials in compression mode due to direct contact between the ceramic particles embedded in the pore-polymer interface. The piezoelectric sponge with 30 wt% of BaTiO₃ particles generated an open-circuit voltage of ~12 V and a short-circuit current of ~150 nA. A finite element method-based simulation was conducted to theoretically back up that the piezoelectric output performance was effectively improved by introducing the sponge structure. Furthermore, to demonstrate the feasibility of pressure detecting applications using the BaTiO₃ particles-embedded piezoelectric sponge, the composite was arranged in a 3 × 3 array and integrated into a single pressure sensor. The fabricated sensor array successfully detected the shape of the applied pressure. This work can provide a cost-effective, biocompatible, and structural strategy for realizing piezoelectric composite-based energy harvesters and self-powered sensors with improved energy conversion efficiency.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.10 s.181
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• pp.2502-2512
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• 2000

Truss structures are widely used in many space structures, such as large antenna systems, space stations, precision segmented telescopes because they are light in weight and amenable in assembly or deployment. But, due to the low damping capacity, they remain excited for a long time once disturbed. These structural vibrations can reduce life of the structures and cause unstable dynamic characteristics. In this research, vibration suppression experiment has carried out with a three-dimensional 15-member truss structure using two piezoelectric actuators. Piezoelectric actuators which consist of stacks of thin piezoelectric material disks are directly inserted to the truss structure collocated with the strain sensors. Each actuator is controlled digitally in decentralized manner, based on local integral and proportional feedback. The optimal positions of the actuators are determined by the modal damping ratio and the control force. Numerical simulation has carried out to determine optimal position of each actuator.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.8
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• pp.921-938
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• 2010

Most of studies on control of beams containing piezoelectric sensors and actuators have been based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) with state feedback or output feedback law. The aim of this study is to develop velocity-acceleration feedback law in the optimal control of smart piezoelectric beams. A new controller which is an optimal control system with velocity-acceleration feedback is presented. In finite element modeling of the beam, the variation of mechanical displacement through the thickness is modeled by a sinus model that ensures inter-laminar continuity of shear stress at the layer interfaces as well as the boundary conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam. In addition to mechanical degrees of freedom, one electric potential degree of freedom is considered for each piezoelectric element layer. The efficiency of this control strategy is evaluated by applying to an aluminum cantilever beam under different loading conditions. Numerical simulations show that this new control scheme is almost as efficient as an optimal control system with state feedback. However, inclusion of the acceleration in the control algorithm increases practical value of a system due to easier and more accurate measurement of accelerations.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.437-445
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• 2008

This paper deals with the experimental assessment of the vibration suppression of the smart structures. First. we have presented a new high-speed active control system using the DSP320C6713 microprocessor. A peripheral system developed is composed of a data acquisition system, N/D and D/A converters, piezoelectric (PZT) actuator/sensors, and drivers for fast data processing. Next, we have tested the processing time of the peripheral devices, and provided the corresponding test results. Since fast data processing is very important in the active vibration control of the structures, we have focused on achieving the fast loop times of the control system. Finally, numerous experiments were carried out on the aluminum plate to validate the superior performance of the vibration control system at different control loop times.