• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.349-364
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• 2013

Recently, researchers in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) have been rigorously striving to replace the conventional NDE techniques with the smart material based SHM techniques, employing smart materials such as piezoelectric materials. For instance, the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique employing piezo-impedance (lead zirconate titanate, PZT) transducer is known for its sensitivity in detecting local damage. For practical applications, various external factors such as fluctuations of temperature and loading, affecting the effectiveness of the EMI technique ought to be understood and compensated. This paper aims at investigating the damage monitoring capability of EMI technique in the presence of axial stress with fixed boundary condition. A compensation technique using effective frequency shift (EFS) by cross-correlation analysis was incorporated to compensate the effect of loading and boundary stiffening. Experimental tests were conducted by inducing damages on lab-sized aluminium beams in the presence of tensile and compressive forces. Two types of damages, crack propagation and bolts loosening were simulated. With EFS for compensation, both cross-correlation coefficient (CC) index and reduction in peak frequency were found to be efficient in characterizing damages in the presence of varying axial loading.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.768-775
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• 2017

Energy harvesting characteristics of trapezoidal piezoelectric cantilever generator, which has a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) laminate film, were compared by longitudinal (3-3) and transverse (3-1) modes. The PZT laminate film, fabricated by a conventional tape casting process, was cofired with Ag electrode at $850^{\circ}C$ for 2 h. A multi-layered Ag electrode by a planar pattern and an interdigitated pattern was applied to the PZT laminate to implement the 3-3 and 3-1 modes, respectively. The energy harvesting performance of the 3-3 mode trapezoidal piezoelectric cantilever generator was better than that of the 3-1 mode. An extremely high output power density of $26.7mW/cm^3$ for the 3-3 mode was obtained at a resonant frequency of 145 Hz under a load resistance of $50{\Omega}$ and acceleration of 1.3 G, which is ~3-times higher than that for the 3-1 mode. Therefore, the 3-3 mode is considered significantly efficient for application to high-performance piezoelectric cantilever generator.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-71
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• 2013

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is vital for detecting the onset of damage and for preventing catastrophic failure of civil infrastructure systems. In particular, piezoelectric transducers have the ability to excite and actively interrogate structures (e.g., using surface waves) while measuring their response for sensing and damage detection. In fact, piezoelectric transducers such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have been used for various laboratory/field tests and possess significant advantages as compared to visual inspection and vibration-based methods, to name a few. However, PZTs are inherently brittle, and PVDF films do not possess high piezoelectricity, thereby limiting each of these devices to certain specific applications. The objective of this study is to design, characterize, and validate piezoelectric nanocomposites consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles assembled in a PVDF copolymer matrix for sensing and SHM applications. These films provide greater mechanical flexibility as compared to PZTs, yet possess enhanced piezoelectricity as compared to pristine PVDF copolymers. This study started with spin coating dispersed ZnO- and PVDF-TrFE-based solutions to fabricate the piezoelectric nanocomposites. The concentration of ZnO nanoparticles was varied from 0 to 20 wt.% (in 5 % increments) to determine their influence on bulk film piezoelectricity. Second, their electric polarization responses were obtained for quantifying thin film remnant polarization, which is directly correlated to piezoelectricity. Based on these results, the films were poled (at 50 $MV-m^{-1}$) to permanently align their electrical domains and to enhance their bulk film piezoelectricity. Then, a series of hammer impact tests were conducted, and the voltage generated by poled ZnO-based thin films was compared to commercially poled PVDF copolymer thin films. The hammer impact tests showed comparable results between the prototype and commercial samples, and increasing ZnO content provided enhanced piezoelectric performance. Lastly, the films were further validated for sensing using different energy levels of hammer impact, different distances between the impact locations and the film electrodes, and cantilever free vibration testing for dynamic strain sensing.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

In this paper, we propose a fabrication technique for enhanced electrical properties of piezoelectric thick films with excellent patterning property using sol-infiltration and a direct-patterning process. To achieve the needs of high-density and direct-patterning at a low sintering temperature (< $850^{\circ}C$), a photosensitive lead zirconate titanate (PZT) solution was infiltrated into a screen-printed thick film. The direct-patterned PZT films were clearly formed on a locally screen-printed thick film, using a photomask and UV light. Because UV light is scattered in the screen-printed thick film of a porous powder-based structure, there are needs to optimize the photosensitive PZT sol infiltration process for obtaining the enhanced properties of PZT thick film. By optimizing the concentration of the photosensitive PZT sol, UV irradiation time, and solvent developing time, the hybrid films prepared with 0.35 M of PZT sol, 4 min of UV irradiation and 15 sec solvent developing time, showed a very dense with a large grain size at a low sintering temperature of $800^{\circ}C$. It also illustrated enhanced electrical properties (remnant polarization, $P_r$, and coercive field, $E_c$). The $P_r$ value was over four times higher than those of the screen-printed films. These films integrated on silicon wafer substrate could give a potential of applications in micro-sensors and -actuators.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.135-138
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• 2004

Conventional piezoelectric lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) senor has high sensitivity, but it is very brittle. Recently polymer films such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride­trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymer have been used as a sensor. The advantages of polymer sensor are the flexibility and mechanical toughness. Simple process and possible several shapes are also additional advantages. Polymer sensor can be directly embedded in a structure. In this study, nondestructive damage sensitivity of single basalt fiber/epoxy composites was investigated with sensor type and thermal damage using AE and oscilloscope. And AE waveform for epoxy matrix with various damage types was compared to each other. The damage sensitivity of two polymer sensors was rather lower than that of PZT sensor. The damage sensitivity of PVDF sensor did not decrease until thermal damage temperature at $80^{\circ}C$ and they decreased significantly at $110^{\circ}C$ However, the damage sensitivity of P(VDF-TrFE) sensor at $110^{\circ}C$ was almost same in no damage sensor. For both top and side impacts, the difference in arrival time increased with increasing internal and surface damage density of epoxy matrix.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 2020

The effectiveness and the sensitivity of a Wireless impedance/Admittance Monitoring System (WiAMS) for the prompt damage diagnosis of two single-storey single-span Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames under cyclic loading is experimentally investigated. The geometrical and the reinforcement characteristics of the RC structural members of the frames represent typical old RC frame structure without consideration of seismic design criteria. The columns of the frames are vulnerable to shear failure under lateral load due to their low height-to-depth ratio and insufficient transverse reinforcement. The proposed Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system comprises of specially manufactured autonomous portable devices that acquire the in-situ voltage frequency responses of a network of twenty piezoelectric transducers mounted to the RC frames. Measurements of external and internal small-sized piezoelectric patches are utilized for damage localization and assessment at various and increased damage levels as the magnitude of the imposed lateral cycle deformations increases. A bare RC frame and a strengthened one using a pair of steel crossed tension-ties (X-bracing) have been tested in order to check the sensitivity of the developed WiAMS in different structural conditions since crack propagation, damage locations and failure mode of the examined frames vary. Indeed, the imposed loading caused brittle shear failure to the column of the bare frame and the formation of plastic hinges at the beam ends of the X-braced frame. Test results highlighted the ability of the proposed SHM to identify incipient damages due to concrete cracking and steel yielding since promising early indication of the forthcoming critical failures before any visible sign has been obtained.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.995-999
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• 2007

The lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powders were synthesized to make the piezoelectric ceramics in low temperature as low as $900^{\circ}C$. To investigate the influence of additives on sintering of PZT, two kinds of sintering aids were made as follows; $wB_2O_3-xBi_2O_3-zCuO$and LiBiO2-CuO. The sintering aid, $1{\sim}3$ wt.% $LiBiO_2-CuO$, was added into these PZT powders and the specimens were fired at temperature in the range of $800{\sim}1200^{\circ}C$. The highest density was shown in the specimen with 1 wt.% $LiBiO_2-CuO$ as additive at temperature of $900^{\circ}C$. The sintered specimen were analyzed by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to observe the microstructure, especially the densified morphology of specimens. In the XRD pattern, the well-crystallized PZT phase could be obtained in consequence of firing at $900^{\circ}C$. The scanning electron microscopy(SEM) was utilized to observe the structure of specimens after firing at $900^{\circ}C$. The densified perovskite structure of $PbZrTiO_3$ could be obtained by sintering at temperature as low as $900^{\circ}C$. The high sinterability of PZT ceramics was attributed to the low formation temperature of the liquid phase of additives.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.135-150
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• 2015

Large concrete structures are prone to cracks and damages over time from human usage, weathers, and other environmental attacks such as flood, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The health of the concrete structures should be monitored regularly to ensure safety. A reliable method of real time communications can facilitate more frequent structural health monitoring (SHM) updates from hard to reach positions, enabling crack detections of embedded concrete structures as they occur to avoid catastrophic failures. By implementing an unconventional mode of communication that utilizes guided stress waves traveling along the concrete structure itself, we may be able to free structural health monitoring from costly (re-)installation of communication wires. In stress-wave communications, piezoelectric transducers can act as actuators and sensors to send and receive modulated signals carrying concrete status information. The new generation of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) based smart aggregates cause multipath propagation in the homogeneous concrete channel, which presents both an opportunity and a challenge for multiple sensors communication. We propose a time reversal based pulse position modulation (TR-PPM) communication for stress wave communication within the concrete structure to combat multipath channel dispersion. Experimental results demonstrate successful transmission and recovery of TR-PPM using stress waves. Compared with PPM, we can achieve higher data rate and longer link distance via TR-PPM. Furthermore, TR-PPM remains effective under low signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio. This work also lays the foundation for implementing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) stress wave communication networks in concrete channels.