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A publication of
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS
VOL. 59, 2017 The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.aidic.it/cet
Guest Editors: Zhuo Yang, Junjie Ba, Jing Pan
Copyright © 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
ISBN 978-88-95608- 49-5; ISSN 2283-9216 DOI: 10.3303/CET1759088
Application of Piezoelectric Materials in Structural Health
Monitoring of Civil Engineering Structure
Zhijian Shu
School of Engineering, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, China
[email protected]Aimed at the high water and high alkali environment in concrete, a small embedded piezoelectric ceramic
sensor for monitoring reinforced concrete structure is developed, and its basic performance parameters are
given. According to the working principle of the charge amplifier, the formula of the output voltage of the
piezoelectric ceramic sensor subjected to vertical uniform force is deduced according to the piezoelectric
equation. According to the test results of the sensor performance, the performance parameters of the sensor
with different sizes of piezoelectric ceramics are compared.
1. Introduction
Civil engineering structures have a long service life and are difficult to replace once they are built. However,
the performance of any civil structure can deteriorate over time. This is mainly due to aging, excessive use,
overloading, environmental erosion and lack of maintenance and inspection methods (Tseng et al., 2014;
Marković et al., 2015). An effective structural health monitoring system for civil engineering can diagnose the
location and extent of defects (cracks, rust, etc.) in real time so that the structure can be repaired and
reinforced in time to ensure structural integrity and safety (Rahim and Ahmad, 2017). At present, many
structural health detection methods are applied to various civil engineering structures or their components.
Such as classical static strain (or displacement) testing, vibration identification methods, and non-destructive
testing methods: acoustic emission, ultrasonic, impedance, infrared thermal imaging, pulse radar and X-ray
(Song et al., 2016). But most methods are qualitative, and it is difficult to carry out real-time detection. Smart
materials such as piezoelectric materials, optical fiber sensors, magneto strictive materials and cement-based
intelligent composites, they all provide a new method for a long-term, real-time health monitoring of civil
engineering structures (Tong et al., 2016). These intelligent material devices have sensing, or sensing and
driving the dual function, and they are integrated with the civil structure to form an intelligent structural system.
Such structural health detection system also includes the composition of signal processing, signal
interpretation software and user interface. To achieve long-range detection, the signal transmission should
also be considered (Yi et al., 2014).
Among the many intelligent materials, piezoelectric materials, which are mainly represented by piezoelectric
ceramics, have the advantages of integrated sensing and driving integration making them suitable for
structural health monitoring (Keulen, 2012; Zhu and Hao, 2012). At the same time, piezoelectric materials
have fast response and good linear relationship, and most of piezoelectric materials have low energy
consumption, low cost and easy processing. Therefore, the piezoelectric material working as the basic
components, the development of a convenient and practical structural health monitoring system is also in line
with China's current national conditions. Based on the above background, this paper is devoted to the
research of piezoelectric ceramics using for structural health monitoring technology.
2. The detection principle of piezoelectric materials for the engineering structure
The method adopted is to make full use of the piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric ceramics, which can be
used as the driver of transmitting signal or the sensor of receiving signal by arranging it at the key position or
the designated position of the structure (Yang and Fritzen, 2012). When driving the piezo ceramic actuator by
Please cite this article as: Zhijian Shu, 2017, Application of piezoelectric materials in structural health monitoring of civil engineering structure,
Chemical Engineering Transactions, 59, 523-528 DOI:10.3303/CET1759088
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applying an excitation signal while recording the received signal from the sensor, the possible damage to the
structure (especially the crack) can cause a change in the received signal (Figure1).
Figure 1: Structural health monitoring system
Using this principle, the piezoelectric ceramic sensor is arranged inside the structure, which is combined with
identification algorithm, and can be timely and effective to infer the general location of the structural damage
and the specific extent in order to achieve the true sense of the structural health monitoring. Therefore, it is of
great technical and economic significance to conduct theoretical and practical research on the structural
health monitoring using piezoelectric ceramics, so we can avoid the high maintenance cost and extend the
service life of the structure. Piezoelectric ceramic materials in civil engineering structure health monitoring
have the following advantages (Savin et al., 2014): (1) Piezoelectric ceramic materials are widely used in
recent years, and they are the new intelligent materials. How to make good use of this new material will have
an important impact on social development.
(2) The use of piezoelectric ceramics in the structural health monitoring provide a new idea for the
development of a sensor sensitive, safe, reliable, and large measuring range of new sensors.
(3) The use of the characteristics of piezoelectric ceramics on the structure of buildings, and structures for
health monitoring determine the location of structural damage to assess the extent of structural damage much
better.
(4) The piezoelectric ceramic materials which are monitoring devices made of low-cost and reliable, can be
widely used in the field of civil engineering, and can bring good economic benefits.
3. Piezoelectric ceramic sensor performance testing
3.1 Piezoelectric ceramic chip selection
Table 1 compares the basic properties of several strain-sensing materials. It can be seen that the response of
piezoele
Ctric ceramics frequency range is the shape memory alloy and fiber-optic materials, which are twice the
frequency response range; although the piezoelectric ceramic response frequency range (Shih et al., 2013).
The field is smaller than the piezoelectric film, but the piezoelectric ceramic can respond to a minimum of
0.001 micro strain, i.e. the material has a corresponding. Change in the high sensitivity.
Table 1: Performance comparison of several smart sensing materials
Characteristic Fiber Memory alloy Piezoelectric ceramics Piezoelectric thin film
Cost Medium Poor Medium Poor
Maturity Good Good Good Good
Network Y Y Y Y
Embedding property Good Good Good Good
Linear degree Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Response frequency 1~10000 1~10000 1~20000 1~50000
Sensitive frequency 0.1 0.1~1 0.001~0.1 2
Maximum strain 200 - 5000 200
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Table 2 shows, for different applications, there are many types of piezoelectric ceramic materials to choose
from. In order to structure the health
The P-5 type piezoelectric ceramics with good sensing and driving functions are selected in this paper.
Piezoelectric ceramics for concrete structure is monitoring. The piezoelectric ceramic has a high
electromechanical coupling coefficient, a high dielectric constant and a high dielectric constant
Flexible characteristics, and thus in the drive and sensing areas have a good performance. Table 2 is used in
this paper piezoelectric ceramic materials of the parameters.
Table 2: Parameters of the piezoelectric ceramic sensor used in this paper
Performance categories Value Performance categories Value
Piezoelectric constant d33 449 Dielectric constant 1700
Piezoelectric constant d31 -195 Curie temperature 321
Piezoelectric constant d15 650 Coupling coefficient 0.77
Density 7600 Elastic compliance coefficient 1.76
Dielectric loss 0.02
3.2 The combination mode between the piezoelectric ceramic and the main structure
At present, piezoelectric ceramics as the main sensor of the piezoelectric structure of health monitoring and
damage diagnosis technology in the piezoelectric structures, the combination mode between the piezoelectric
ceramic and the main structure has two main forms, that is, paste and embedded. In practice, choosing which
combination of methods mainly depends on the main structure of the material characteristics and the use of
damage diagnosis methods (Hu et al., 2013).
Paste type: Paste-type bonding method is to paste the piezoelectric ceramic sheet directly on the surface of
the structure. First, the structure of the paste position should be polished smooth. Next, wipe structure paste
position and piezoelectric ceramic sensor and structure contact surface dust, dirt with acetone. And then use
the epoxy or 502 glue to paste the sensor in the structural surface. Paste to ensure that the sensor and colloid
contact even and full, so that the force is with uniformity of the sensor and to avoid charge leakage. The
advantages of the bonding method are easy to operate and the force of the piezoelectric ceramic sheet is
relatively simple. However, the shortcomings of the combination are also more obvious. First of all, because of
the piezoelectric material on the temperature and humidity are more sensitive to exposure to the natural
environment of piezoelectric ceramics affected by changes in ambient temperature, humidity. It may give
monitoring results with while civil engineering structures have a long service life, and structures are subject to
external factors such as climate change, natural disasters, and human activities during service. Role, these
factors will also be affixed to the knot. The surface of the piezoelectric ceramic sheet is damaged.
Embedded: Embedded in the way of the piezoelectric ceramic being embedded in the monitored structure.
The combination is mainly applied to concrete structures. Its advantage is that it can weaken the influence of
external environment such as temperature and humidity on the piezoelectric ceramic. And the structure of the
main body can protect the piezoelectric ceramic, which can prolong the service life of the piezoelectric slice
greatly, to ensure long-term effectiveness of the health monitoring process. These piezoelectric ceramic
pieces wrapped with mortar blocks or fine stone concrete blocks called as "smart aggregate." Figure 2 shows
the "smart aggregate" constitute a schematic diagram.
Figure 2: Schematic of smart aggregate composition
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The piezoelectric ceramics used in the preparation of "Aggregate" is mainly in the form of thickness
extensional vibration mode. The stress wave mode of the signal emission is dominated by longitudinal wave,
which is made by BaoyingTianyi Super Energy Technology Co., Specifications, dimensions of the PZT-4 and
PZT a 5-type piezoelectric ceramic.
3.3 Charge amplifier
Because of the piezoelectric ceramics are used as the high impedance component, its output current signal is
very weak, which is generally carried out after the preamplifier signal acquisition (Masmoudi et al., 2013).
According to the working principle of piezoelectric materials, the output signal can be charge, but also the
voltage signal. The corresponding cases should be chosen in charge or voltage amplifier. Charge amplifier is
a high source impedance charge piezoelectric element into a low impedance voltage source special
preamplifier. Theoretical analysis shows that when the charge amplifier is under certain conditions, the
sensitivity of the sensor has nothing to do with the length of the cable. In practical application, the composition
of the piezoelectric sensor measurement circuit is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Piezoelectric sensor measurement circuit
In order to test the performance of the piezoelectric ceramic sensor after packaging and compare the
performance of piezoelectric ceramic sensor of different thickness and different size, piezoelectric ceramics
are used in this paper. Use multi-meter capacitance file and ohm file respectively on the sensor capacitance
and resistance test. Welded wire, the measured capacitance of the finished package is also given. Due to the
inconsistency of the wire length and the difference of the piezoelectric material, the measured capacitance
value of the piezoelectric ceramic sensor has some differences. By the multi-meter of the measured after the
sensor in the package are more than 10M0 resistances, to ensure the piezoelectric ceramic sensor insulation.
3.4 Sensor sensitivity test
The static sensitivity of the sensor is the ratio of the change of the response of the sensor under the static
force with the corresponding input quantity (Part et al., 2013).
The sensitivity= the actual output / input
As the piezoelectric ceramic is a kind of charge source device, it can not be tested by static force. In addition,
the method of dynamic calibration of piezoelectric sensor is more complex. In view of this, this paper uses the
dynamic loading test method to test the sensitivity of the sensor. In the process the frequency of 1 Hz sine
wave signal control MTS is selected. The sensor in the measurement range is of the step size of 100N,
loading 1.2kN. The actuating device output stability to ensure security, each cycle is with five amplitude cycle.
The peak value of the output signal of the sensor under cyclic load is taken as the output of the piezoelectric
sensor, and the relationship between the output and the load is investigated.
The gain of the charge amplifier is 10. It can be seen that the output of the sensor has a good linear
relationship with the load curve of each load
3.5 Experimental study and output voltage characteristics analysis
Piezoelectric ceramic sensor as a piezoelectric intelligent concrete structure of the core components, the
performance of the sensor directly impact the results of structural health supervision measurement and
damage detection. The study of the related performance of piezoelectric ceramic sensors, such as the
frequency independence, linearity, sensitivity and stability of the sensor, has been studied in detail. Based on
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the positive piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric materials, the piezoelectric ceramic sensor has a good
performance, and it has laid a good foundation for the passive monitoring of piezo ceramic sensors. However,
the whole system is composed of the piezoelectric ceramic signal driver, the piezoelectric ceramic signal
receiver, the concrete specimen and the test equipment, which is based on the active health monitoring and
damage diagnosis technology of the concrete structure of the piezoelectric ceramic sensor. Health monitoring
and damage diagnosis process involves not only the positive piezoelectric effect, but also the inverse
piezoelectric effect (Yu et al., 2013). The stability of the test equipment which is used to test the smooth plays
a crucial role. So it is necessary to study the relative performance of the whole system and lay the foundation
for the next model test.
3.5 Voltage
line fit
3.0
2.5
Voltage V
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Pressure MPa
Figure 4: Output verses load
It can be seen from the curve in Figure 4 that the output of the piezoelectric ceramic sensor exhibits a good
linear growth relationship with the loading curve of each load.
Table 3: Specific parameters of piezoelectric ceramic chip and its sensitivity values
Number Size Theoretical capacitance Actual capacitance value Sensitivity
Senor 1 0.3*10*10 5.014nF 4.15nF 0.334
Senor 2 0.5*10*10 3.009nF 3.49nF 0.398
It can be seen from the test results of the sensor sensitivity in Table 3 that the sensitivity of the piezoelectric
ceramic sensor with the same area and different thickness has a tendency to increase with the increase of the
thickness.
4. Conclusion
According to the characteristics of piezoelectric ceramics, this paper develops a piezoelectric ceramic sensor
with cement paste. The sensor has the advantages of simple process, small volume, convenient installation,
good dynamic performance and large amplitude of output signal. It is suitable for passive monitoring of civil
engineering structure. With the cement paste, the piezoelectric ceramic sensor has good phase with the
concrete structure. To avoid the metal-encapsulated sensor susceptible to corrosion deficiencies, the dynamic
mechanical properties of the sensor test results can be seen that each sensor output are showing a good
linear relationship.
For the same size sensor, its sensitivity with the internal package of piezoelectric ceramic Size changes, that
is, the greater the area of piezoelectric ceramics, the higher the sensitivity. For the same area, the thickness of
different piezoelectric ceramics, the sensitivity of the sensor after packaging changes little. A slight decrease
in the thickness of the trend. For the same size, different shapes of the sensor, the pressure side of the sensor
for the square of the highest sensitivity.
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