• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.345-360
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• 2020

Modern swarm intelligence heuristic search methods are widely applied in the field of structural health monitoring due to their advantages of excellent global search capacity, loose requirement of initial guess and ease of computational implementation etc. To this end, a hybrid strategy is proposed based on butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) and differential evolution (DE) with purpose of effective combination of their merits. In the proposed identification strategy, two improvements including mutation and crossover operations of DE, and dynamic adaptive operators are introduced into original BOA to reduce the risk to be trapped in local optimum and increase global search capability. The performance of the proposed algorithm, hybrid butterfly optimization and differential evolution algorithm (HBODEA) is evaluated by two numerical examples of a simply supported beam and a 37-bar truss structure, as well as an experimental test of 8-story shear-type steel frame structure in the laboratory. Compared with BOA and DE, the numerical and experimental results show that the proposed HBODEA is more robust to detect the reduction of stiffness with limited sensors and contaminated measurements. In addition, the effect of search space, two dynamic operators, population size on identification accuracy and efficiency of the proposed identification strategy are further investigated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.91-105
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• 2016

One of the most commonly used techniques to strengthen steel reinforced concrete structures is the application of externally bonded patches in the form of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) or recently, textile reinforced cements (TRC). These external patches undertake the tensile stress of bending constraining concrete cracking. Development of full-field inspection methodologies for fracture monitoring are important since the reinforcing layers are not transparent, hindering visual observation of the material condition underneath. In the present study acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) are applied during four-point bending tests of large beams to follow the damage accumulation. AE helps to determine the onset of fracture as well as the different damage mechanisms through the registered shifts in AE rate, location of active sources and change in waveform parameters. The effect of wave propagation distance, which in large components and in-situ can well mask the original information as emitted by the fracture incidents is also discussed. Simultaneously, crucial information is supplied by DIC concerning the moments of stress release of the patches due to debonding, benchmarking the trends monitored by AE. From the point of view of mechanics, conclusions on the reinforcing contribution of the different repair methodologies are also drawn.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.411-433
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• 2013

Due to its easy operation and wide applicability, the ambient vibration method is commonly adopted to determine the cable force by first identifying the cable frequencies from the vibration signals. With given vibration length and flexural rigidity, an analytical or empirical formula is then used with these cable frequencies to calculate the cable force. It is, however, usually difficult to decide the two required parameters, especially the vibration length due to uncertain boundary constraints. To tackle this problem, a new concept of combining the modal frequencies and mode shape ratios is fully explored in this study for developing an accurate method merely based on ambient vibration measurements. A simply supported beam model with an axial tension is adopted and the effective vibration length of cable is then independently determined based on the mode shape ratios identified from the synchronized measurements. With the effective vibration length obtained and the identified modal frequencies, the cable force and flexural rigidity can then be solved using simple linear regression techniques. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method is extensively verified with demonstrative numerical examples and actual applications to different cable-stayed bridges. Furthermore, several important issues in engineering practice such as the number of sensors and selection of modes are also thoroughly investigated.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.425-431
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• 2015

Beamspace Multiple-Input Multiple Output(MIMO) system can transmit multiple data by using Electronically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator(ESPAR) antenna which has single Radio Frequency(RF)-chain. Beamspace MIMO system can reduce complexity of the system and size of antenna in comparison with the conventional MIMO system because of characteristic of ESPAR antenna using the single antenna and the RF-chain. Heretofore, only the research of transmitting single-carrier has been conducted by the use of beamspace MIMO system. Therefore, in this paper, we propose beamspace MIMO system based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM) for transmitting the multi-carrier and analysis the performance of this system. We find a proper reactance value which has good performance because proposed system changes the performance by the reactance values of parasitic elements. and we confirm that performance of the proposed system is similar to conventional MIMO system based on OFDM.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.383-387
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• 2016

Well-ordered nanocolumnar indium oxide ($In_2O_3$) thin films have been successfully fabricated by glancing angle deposition (GAD) using an e-beam evaporator. Nanocolumnar structures have a porous and large surface area with a narrow neck between nanocolumns, which allows them to detect minute amounts of gases. The nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ thin films were fabricated by the GAD process at five different positions, viz. top, bottom, center, left, and right in a four inch substrate holder. There was a divergence in the thickness and the base resistance of each sensor. However, all the sensors exhibited extremely high sensitivity that was greater than $10^3$ times the change in electrical resistance after being exposed to 50 ppm of acetone gas at $300^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, the nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ sensors displayed an extremely low detection limit (1.2 ppb) in dry atmosphere as well as in high humidity (80%). We demonstrated that the GAD nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ sensors have an enormous potential for many applications owing to their particularly simple and reliable fabrication process.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.561-578
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• 2010

This study proposes a multi-level damage localization strategy to achieve an effective damage detection system for civil infrastructure systems based on wireless sensors. The proposed system is designed for use of distributed computation in a wireless sensor network (WSN). Modal identification is achieved using the frequency-domain decomposition (FDD) method and the peak-picking technique. The ASH (angle-between-string-and-horizon) and AS (axial strain) flexibility-based methods are employed for identifying and localizing damage. Fundamentally, the multi-level damage localization strategy does not activate all of the sensor nodes in the network at once. Instead, relatively few sensors are used to perform coarse-grained damage localization; if damage is detected, only those sensors in the potentially damaged regions are incrementally added to the network to perform finer-grained damage localization. In this way, many nodes are able to remain asleep for part or all of the multi-level interrogations, and thus the total energy cost is reduced considerably. In addition, a novel distributed computing strategy is also proposed to reduce the energy consumed in a sensor node, which distributes modal identification and damage detection tasks across a WSN and only allows small amount of useful intermediate results to be transmitted wirelessly. Computations are first performed on each leaf node independently, and the aggregated information is transmitted to one cluster head in each cluster. A second stage of computations are performed on each cluster head, and the identified operational deflection shapes and natural frequencies are transmitted to the base station of the WSN. The damage indicators are extracted at the base station. The proposed strategy yields a WSN-based SHM system which can effectively and automatically identify and localize damage, and is efficient in energy usage. The proposed strategy is validated using two illustrative numerical simulations and experimental validation is performed using a cantilevered beam.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2017

Finite element model updating is very effective procedure to determine the uncertainty parameters in structural model and minimize the differences between experimentally and numerically identified dynamic characteristics. This procedure can be practiced with manual and automatic model updating procedures. The manual model updating involves manual changes of geometry and analyses parameters by trial and error, guided by engineering judgement. Besides, the automated updating is performed by constructing a series of loops based on optimization procedures. This paper addresses the ambient vibration based finite element model updating of long span reinforced concrete highway bridges using manual model updating procedure. Birecik Highway Bridge located on the $81^{st}km$ of Şanliurfa-Gaziantep state highway over Firat River in Turkey is selected as a case study. The structural carrier system of the bridge consists of two main parts: Arch and Beam Compartments. In this part of the paper, the arch compartment is investigated. Three dimensional finite element model of the arch compartment of the bridge is constructed using SAP2000 software to determine the dynamic characteristics, numerically. Operational Modal Analysis method is used to extract dynamic characteristics using Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition method. Numerically and experimentally identified dynamic characteristics are compared with each other and finite element model of the arch compartment of the bridge is updated manually by changing some uncertain parameters such as section properties, damages, boundary conditions and material properties to reduce the difference between the results. It is demonstrated that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of long span highway bridges. Maximum differences between the natural frequencies are reduced averagely from %49.1 to %0.6 by model updating. Also, a good harmony is found between mode shapes after finite element model updating.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.681-692
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• 2020

Conventional Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters (CPEH) have been extensively studied for maximizing their electrical output through material selection, geometric and structural optimization, and adoption of efficient interface circuits. In this paper, the performance of Stepped Piezoelectric Energy Harvester (SPEH) under harmonic base excitation is studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. The motivation is to compare the energy harvesting performance of CPEH and SPEHs with the same characteristics (resonant frequency). The results of this study challenge the notion of achieving higher voltage and power output through incorporation of geometric discontinuities such as step sections in the harvester beams. A CPEH consists of substrate material with a patch of piezoelectric material bonded over it and a tip mass at the free end to tune the resonant frequency. A SPEH is designed by introducing a step section near the root of substrate beam to induce higher dynamic strain for maximizing the electrical output. The incorporation of step section reduces the stiffness and consequently, a lower tip mass is used with SPEH to match the resonant frequency to that of CPEH. Moreover, the electromechanical coupling coefficient, forcing function and damping are significantly influenced because of the inclusion of step section, which consequently affects harvester's output. Three different configurations of SPEHs characterized by the same resonant frequency as that of CPEH are designed and analyzed using linear electromechanical model and their performances are compared. The variation of strain on the harvester beams is obtained using finite element analysis. The prototypes of CPEH and SPEHs are fabricated and experimentally tested. It is shown that the power output from SPEHs is lower than the CPEH. When the prototypes with resonant frequencies in the range of 56-56.5 Hz are tested at 1 m/s2, three SPEHs generate power output of 482 μW, 424 μW and 228 μW when compared with 674 μW from CPEH. It is concluded that the advantage of increasing dynamic strain using step section is negated by increase in damping and decrease in forcing function. However, SPEHs show slightly better performance in terms of specific power and thus making them suitable for practical scenarios where the ratio of power to system mass is critical.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.21-28
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• 2022

The TMD has a simple structure than other vibration control devices and shows excellent control performance for the simple harmonic vibration generated in the structure. However, the vibration control range is narrower than other control devices, making it vulnerable to vibration cycles caused by unexpected external loads. The ETMD developed in this study consisted of Mass with electromagnets. Therefore when supplying a current, the magnetic field is formed to increase the friction force with the friction plate, thereby instantaneously controlling the behavior of the Mass. The experiment was conducted to compare the control performance of the control device by installing the ETMD developed for control performance evaluation in the center of the model simple beam bridge to forced excitation at 3.02 Hz where the maximum bending displacement occurs. As a result of the experiment, ETMD exhibited excellent control performance with a maximum bending displacement attenuation rate of 57.51%.

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.279-288
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• 2018

In this paper, we present the results of educational innovation case study using U-Learning Box and Ubiquitous-based Test(UBT) system for 6 sample primary schools in Nepal. As Nepal is considered to be a developing country with electricity problem to the school, the U-Learning Box, consisting of a small and easy-to-use tablet PC for teacher and a small smart beam with its own battery was evaluated as the optimum solution to support continuous basic English and hygiene education for these schools. And UBT technology using tablet PC was used to evaluate and analyze basic English learning ability of the students, which helped us realized that it is necessary to improve the educational environment and develop suitable educational contents. We hope that the global educational innovation using U-Learning Box and UBT technology will become a successful model for global equality of educational opportunity project for developing countries including Nepal.