Campus Units

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE)

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Conference

Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2018

Publication Version

Published Version

Publication Date

3-27-2018

Journal or Book Title

Proceedings of SPIE

Volume

10598

Issue

105981T

First Page

105981T-1

Last Page

105981T-10

Research Focus Area

Structural Engineering

DOI

10.1117/12.2297526

Conference Title

SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring

Conference Date

March 4-8, 2018

City

Denver, CO

Abstract

Monitoring a building’s structural performance is critical for the identification of incipient damages and the optimization of maintenance programs. The characteristics and spatial deployment of any sensing system plays an essential role in the reliability of the monitored data and, therefore, on the actual capability of the monitoring system to reveal early-stage structural damage. A promising strategy for enhancing the quality of a structural health monitoring system is the use of sensors fabricated using materials exhibiting similar mechanical properties and durability as those of the construction materials. Based on this philosophy, the authors have recently proposed the concept of "smart-bricks" that are nanocomposite clay bricks capable of transducing a change in volumetric strain into a change in a selected electrical property. Such brick-like sensors could be easily placed at critical locations within masonry walls, being an integral part of the structure itself. The sensing is enabled through the dispersion of fillers into the constitutive material. Examples of fillers include titania, carbon-based particles, and metallic microfibers. In this paper, experimental tests are conducted on bricks doped with different types of carbon-based fillers, tested both as standalone sensors and within small wall systems. Results show that mechanical properties as well as the smart brick’s strain sensitivity depend on the type of filler used. The capability of the bricks to work as strain monitoring sensors within small masonry specimens is also demonstrated.

Comments

This proceeding is published as Meoni, Andrea, Antonella D'Alessandro, Austin Downey, Simon Laflamme, and Filippo Ubertini. "Strain monitoring in masonry structures using smart bricks." Proc. SPIE 10598, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2018, 105981T (27 March 2018); doi: 10.1117/12.2297526. Posted with permission.

Copyright Owner

Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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Article Location

 
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