Structural Damage Detection Technique of Secondary Building Components Using Piezoelectric Sensors

Abstract

With demand for the long-term continued use of existing building facilities, structural health monitoring and damage detection are attracting interest from society. Sensors of various types have been practically applied in the industry to satisfy this need. Among the sensors, piezoelectric sensors are an extremely promising technology by virtue of their cost advantages and durability. Although they have been used in aerospace and civil engineering, their application for building engineering remains limited. Remarkably, recent catastrophic seismic events have further reinforced the necessity of rapid damage detection and quick judgment about the safe use of facilities. Faced with these circumstances, this study was conducted to assess the applicability of piezoelectric sensors to detect damage to building components stemming from concrete cracks and local buckling. Specifically, this study emphasizes structural damage caused by earthquakes. After first applying them to cyclic loading tests to composite beam component specimens and steel frame subassemblies with a folded roof plate, the prospective damage positions were also found using finite element analysis. Crack propagation and buckling locations were predicted adequately. The piezoelectric sensors provided output when the concrete slab showed tensile cracks or when the folded roof plate experienced local buckling. Furthermore, damage expansion and progression were detected multiple times during loading tests. Results showed that the piezoelectric sensors can detect the structural damage of building components, demonstrating their potential for use in inexpensive and stable monitoring systems.

Rotational Stiffening Performance of Roof Folded Plates in Torsion Tests and the Stiffening Effect of Roof Folded Plates on the Lateral Buckling of H Beams in Steel Structures

“…Studies focusing on the bending performance of roof folded plates as roof members have unveiled their bending strength, considering variants with and without holes for equipment [62][63][64][65] and their reference manuals [48,49,[66][67][68].…”

“…These studies have exposed the holding performance of roof folded plates [52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] and the mechanical behavior of roof folded plate-beam joints [69][70][71] within actual structures. However, they did not endeavor to employ the roof folded plate, a non-structural member, as a lateral buckling stiffener for beams.…”

Two-Dimensional Damage Localization Using a Piezoelectric Smart Aggregate Approach—Implementation on Arbitrary Shaped Concrete Plates

“…In order to satisfy all these criteria, it is necessary to have reliable data on the basis of which it is possible to define the characteristics of the materials, the real intensities of the actions, the state of the structure and other influences during the exploitation of the structure as accurately as possible. Monitoring the state of old reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, especially the ones subject to earthquakes, is a huge challenge for researchers [ 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”