• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.1543-1567
• /
• 2015

In this study, a wireless crack sensor is developed for monitoring cracks propagating in two dimensions. This sensor is developed by incorporating a laser-based optical navigation sensor board (ADNS-9500) into a smart wireless platform (Imote2). To measure crack propagation, the Imote2 sends a signal to the ADNS-9500 to collect a sequence of images reflected from the concrete surface. These acquired images can be processed in the ADNS-9500 directly (the navigation mode) or sent to Imote2 for processing (the frame capture mode). The computed crack displacement can then be transmitted wirelessly to a base station. The design and the construction of this sensor are reported herein followed by some calibration tests on one prototype sensor. Test results show that the sensor can provide sub-millimeter accuracy under sinusoidal and step movement. Also, the two modes of operation offer complementary performance as the navigation mode is more accurate in tracking large amplitude and fast crack movement while the frame capture mode is more accurate for small and slow crack movement. These results illustrate the feasibility of developing such a crack sensor as well as point out directions of further research before its actual implementation.