• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.749-765
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• 2010

There are on-going efforts to utilize guided waves for structural damage detection. Active sensing devices such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) have been widely used for guided wave generation and sensing. In addition, there has been increasing interest in adopting wireless sensing to structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. One of major challenges in wireless SHM is to secure power necessary to operate the wireless sensors. However, because active sensing devices demand relatively high electric power compared to conventional passive sensors such as accelerometers and strain gauges, existing battery technologies may not be suitable for long-term operation of the active sensing devices. To tackle this problem, a new wireless power transmission paradigm has been developed in this study. The proposed technique wirelessly transmits power necessary for PZT-based guided wave generation using laser and optoelectronic devices. First, a desired waveform is generated and the intensity of the laser source is modulated accordingly using an electro-optic modulator (EOM). Next, the modulated laser is wirelessly transmitted to a photodiode connected to a PZT. Then, the photodiode converts the transmitted light into an electric signal and excites the PZT to generate guided waves on the structure where the PZT is attached to. Finally, the corresponding response from the sensing PZT is measured. The feasibility of the proposed method for wireless guided wave generation has been experimentally demonstrated.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.273-280
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• 2019

There are many studies that use structure health monitoring to reduce maintenance costs for aircraft and to increase aircraft utilization. Many studies on FBG sensors are also being conducted. However, if the FBG sensor is installed inside the composite, voids will occur between the layers of the composite, resulting in signal split problem. In addition, the FBG sensor is not affected by electromagnetic waves, but will produce electromagnetic noise caused by electronic equipment during post-processing. In this paper, to reduce the error caused by these noises, the stationary wavelet transform, which has the characteristics of movement immutability and is efficient in nonlinear signal analysis, is presented. And in the above situation, we found that noise rejection performance of stationary wavelet transform was better compared with the wavelet packet transform.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.146-155
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• 2022

We proposed a simple process of creating electroconductive textiles by using PEDOT:PSS(Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate))/non-oxidized graphene to coat polyamide or polyurethane knitted fabric for smart healthcare purposes. Electroconductive textiles were obtained through a coating process that used different amounts of PEDOT:PSS/non-oxidized graphene solutions on polyamide/polyurethane knitted fabric. Subsequently, the surface, electrical, chemical, weight change, and elongation properties were evaluated according to the ratio of PEDOT:PSS/non-oxidized graphene composite(1.3 wt%:1.0 wt%; 1.3 wt%:0.6 wt%; 1.3 wt%:0.3 wt%) and the number of applications(once, twice, or thrice). The specimens' surface morphology was observed by FE-SEM. Further, their chemical structures were characterized using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. The electrical properties measurement (sheet resistance) of the specimens, which was conducted by four-point contacts, shows the increase in conductivity with non-oxidized graphene and the number of applications in the composite system. Moreover, a test of the fabrics' mechanical properties shows that PEDOT:PSS/non-oxidized graphene-treated fabrics exhibited less elongation and better ability to recover their original length than untreated samples. Furthermore, the PEDOT:PSS/non-oxidized graphene polyamide/polyurethane knitted fabric was tested by performing tensile operations 1,000 times with a tensile strength of 20%; Consequently, sensors maintained a constant resistance without noticeable damage. This indicates that PEDOT:PSS/non-oxidized graphene strain sensors have sufficient durability and conductivity to be used as smart wearable devices.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.267-278
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• 2022

Pre-stressed concrete circular spun piles are widely used in various infrastructure projects around the world and offer an economical deep foundation system with consistent and superior quality compared to cast in-situ and other concrete piles. Conventional methods for measuring the lateral response of piles have been limited to conventional instrumentation, such as electrical based gauges and pressure transducers. The problem with existing technology is that the sensors are not able to assist in recording the lateral stiffness changes of the pile which varies along the length depending on the distribution of the flexural moments and appearance of tensile cracks. This paper describes a full-scale bending test of a 1-m diameter spun pile of 30 m long and instrumented using advanced fibre optic distributed sensor, known as Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA). Optical fibre sensors were embedded inside the concrete during the manufacturing stage and attached on the concrete surface in order to measure the pile's full-length flexural behaviour under the prescribed serviceability and ultimate limit state. The relationship between moments-deflections and bending moments-curvatures are examined with respect to the lateral forces. Tensile cracks were measured and compared with the peak strains observed from BOTDA data which corroborated very well. By analysing the moment-curvature response of the pile, the structure can be represented by two bending stiffness parameters, namely the pre-yield (EI) and post-yield (EI_cr), where the cracks reduce the stiffness property by 89%. The pile deflection profile can be attained from optical fibre data through closed-form solutions, which generally matched with the displacements recorded by Linear Voltage Displacement Transducers (LVDTs).

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.17-26
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• 2011

Ground anchor method is one of the most popular reinforcing technology in Korea. For the sound monitoring of slope reinforced by permanent anchor for a long period, monitoring the tension force of ground anchor is very important. However, special technology except conventional load cell has not been developed for this purpose. In this paper, a new method is described to replace the conventional strain gauge and V.W. type load cell which has been commonly used as a prestress force monitoring tool for a short-term and long-term. Four 11.5 m long strain detectable tension type anchors were made using FBG sensor embedded tendon since FBG sensor is smaller than strain gauge type load cell and does not have noise from electromagnetic wave. Each two set strain detectable tension type anchors were installed into the different ground conditions, i.e., soft rock and weathered granite soil. Prestress force of ground anchor was monitored during the loading-unloading step from in-situ pullout test using proposed FBG sensor embedded in the tendon and the conventional load cell Test results show that the prestress force monitored from FBG sensor may well be used practically, for it almost matches with that measured from expensive load cell.

• 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 Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1101-1109
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• 2012

Accelerometers play a key role in the structural assessment. However, the current electric type accelerometers have certain limitations to apply some structures such as heavy cabling labor, installed sea structure and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. An optical Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) accelerometer has many advantages over conventional electrical sensors since their immunity to electromagnetic interference and their capability to transmit signals over long distance without any additional amplifiers, and there is no corrosion from sea water. In this paper, we have developed a new FBG-based accelerometer. The accelerometer consists of two cantilevered type beams and a mass and two rollers. A bragg grating element is not directly glued to a cantilever to avoid possible non-uniform strain in the element. Instead, the bragg grating element will be attached to rotation part that rolled inducing vertical movement of the mass and support cantilever beams so that the bragg grating element is uniformly tensioned to achieve a constant strain distribution. After manufacturing, we will prove the performance and the natural frequency of the accelerometer through the experiment with a vibration shaker. The FBG-based accelerometer is developed for measuring the vibration not exceeding 50 Hz for the marine and civil structures.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.238-245
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• 2018

The hydrodynamic ram (HRAM) phenomenon is one of the main types of ballistic battle damages of a military aircraft and has great importance to airframe survivability design. The HRAM effect occurs due to the interaction between the fluid and structure, and damage can be investigated by measuring the pressure of the fluid and the dynamic strains on the structure. In this paper, HRAM test of a composite T-Joint was performed using a ram simulator which can generate HRAM pressure. In addition, calibration tests of PVDF sensor were performed to determine the circuit capacitance and time constant of the measurement system. The failure behavior of the composite T-Joint due to HRAM pressure was examined using the strain gauges and a PVDF sensor which were attached to the surface of the composite T-Joint.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.39-54
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• 2014

Node layout optimization of structural wireless systems is investigated as a means to prolong the network lifetime without, if possible, compromising information quality of the measurement data. The trade-off between these antagonistic objectives is studied within a multi-objective layout optimization framework. A Genetic Algorithm is adopted to obtain a set of Pareto-optimal solutions from which the end user can select the final layout. The information quality of the measurement data collected from a heterogeneous WSN is quantified from the placement quality indicators of strain and acceleration sensors. The network lifetime or equivalently the network energy consumption is estimated through WSN simulation that provides realistic results by capturing the dynamics of the wireless communication protocols. A layout optimization study of a monitoring system on the Great Belt Bridge is conducted to evaluate the proposed approach. The placement quality of strain gauges and accelerometers is obtained as a ratio of the Modal Clarity Index and Mode Shape Expansion values that are computed from a Finite Element model of the monitored bridge. To estimate the energy consumption of the WSN platform in a realistic scenario, we use a discrete-event simulator with stochastic communication models. Finally, we compare the optimization results with those obtained in a previous work where the network energy consumption is obtained via deterministic communication models.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.217-221
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• 2012

As a part of basic research to improve screen quality, which deteriorates when strain occurs within optical sheets in LCD modules for laptop computers, a measurement system is needed to analyze the influence of heat and moisture, which are the main factors causing the strain. It is assumed that the existence of an air gap less of than 0.5 mm inside the LCD module causes humid air from outside to permeate through the module. To investigate this phenomenon, in this study a thin printed circuit board (PCB) of compact sensors that measure temperature and humidity is inserted into LCD modules, and thus, the changes in temperature and humidity can be analyzed in real time. The results can be used as basic data for simulation of the deformation behavior and structural design of LCD modules in the future.