Structural health monitoring using piezoelectric materials

• Main Author: Hu, Yang
• Other Authors: Yang Yaowen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59086
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With an expanding population world widely, demanding for safer buildings and infrastructure lead to a closer attention to structural health monitoring (SHM) method. Engineers discover the sensitivity of PZT transducer has been a promising and cost-effective choice as the sensor of SHM due to its various advantages. In this study, a small PZT patch is bonded to a specimen of steel plate, and connected with an impedance analyzer to monitor any changes in the structure due to a change in tensile stress. The experimental results are later analyzed via different methods to establish reliable pattern recognition to detect the changes in loadings and damages. Numerical modeling of specimen is also carried out using ANASYS software under finite elements method. The results obtained from analytical study showed a close agreement with experimental results. From this comparison, one can say that PZT transducer is only capable of detecting a mode shape in various behaviors exhibited at different values of natural frequencies.