Multiscale Acceleration-Dynamic Strain-Impedance Sensor System for Structural Health Monitoring

Abstract

A multiscale wireless sensor system is designed for vibration- and impedance-based structural health monitoring. In order to achieve the objective, the following approaches are implemented. Firstly, smart sensor nodes for vibration and impedance monitoring are designed. In the design, Imote2 platform which has high performance microcontroller, large amount of memory, and flexible radio communication is implemented to acceleration and impedance sensor nodes. Acceleration sensor node is modified to measure PZT's dynamic strain along with acceleration. A solar-power harvesting unit is implemented for power supply to the sensor system. Secondly, operation logics of the multi-scale sensor nodes are programmed based on the concept of the decentralized sensor network. Finally, the performance of the multi-scale sensor system is evaluated on a lab-scale beam to examine the long-term monitoring capacities under various weather conditions.