Method of Monitoring Cracks in a Metal Structure Based on Dual-Chip RFID Antenna Sensor

Abstract

The microstrip patch antenna sensor is a novel sensor used for structural health monitoring which can measure a metal structure’s crack defects in a wireless manner. However, it is difficult to identify the reflected signal from the signal of an antenna sensor. The radio-frequency identification (RFID) antenna sensor, which combines RFID technology and the microstrip patch antenna sensor, can solve the measurement problems that are difficult to the conventional wireless testing technologies. In this study, a dual-chip RFID antenna sensor was designed. The influence of the wireless testing method on the monitoring results of crack defects was investigated by tests, including the wireless tests of resonant frequency and the crack sensitivity tests. The tests results revealed that the antenna sensor had good wireless testing performance with regard to the metal structure’s crack defects. Additionally, the maximum of wireless identification distance reached 1.96 m.

Strain Sensing by Electrical Capacitive Variation: From Stretchable Materials to Electronic Interfaces

“…The wireless transmission systems for the health monitoring of large structures are mainly discussed in the last decades, especially for in situ health monitoring systems and some advanced industrial and engineering applications, such as torque sensing and point stress for ball bearings, blades, and rotating shafts. Various LC sensors have been developed to avoid catastrophic damage (in composite, steel, and concrete) through crack [ 249,256–259 ] and strain [ 254,255,260,261 ] sensing, thereby achieving reliable system monitoring, understanding material fatigue, and optimizing system performance. In 2005, Matsuzaki et al.…”

Defect mitigation and structural control of cantilevered structures using shape memory wire based resonant stiffness sensing

“…Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensor with an antenna has been designed for the detection of cracks on aluminum plates by sensing the variation in resonant frequency using wireless techniques. 11 Many contributions have analyzed the frequency of the vibration of the cracked structures and have achieved promising results for the detection of crack position and size. [8][9][10] Inspection of the quality of the structure is done by analyzing the distorted patterns using a convolutional neural network algorithm as stated in Modarres et al 12 The contribution of the stiffness characteristics of the vibrating structure in the identification of structural defects has been demonstrated in Firdaus 13 and the methodology to detect damage from the shifts in the amplitude of fundamental mode shapes of cantilever structure is illustrated in Tributsch and Adam.…”

“…Vibration analysis of the structures generally involves permanently attached vibration inducers or colossal external devices; resonant sensing technologies use massive vibration generators like shakers and electromagnetic coils. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensor with an antenna has been designed for the detection of cracks on aluminum plates by sensing the variation in resonant frequency using wireless techniques 11 . Many contributions have analyzed the frequency of the vibration of the cracked structures and have achieved promising results for the detection of crack position and size 8–10 .…”