A large-area strain sensing technology for monitoring fatigue cracks in steel bridges

• Published in: Smart materials and structures Vol. 26; no. 8; pp. 85024 - 85035
• Main Authors: Kong, Xiangxiong, Li, Jian, Collins, William, Bennett, Caroline, Laflamme, Simon, Jo, Hongki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.08.2017
• Subjects: capacitive strain sensor; crack detection; fatigue crack; high-cycle fatigue; sensing skin; soft elastomeric capacitor; structural health monitoring

This paper presents a novel large-area strain sensing technology for monitoring fatigue cracks in steel bridges. The technology is based on a soft elastomeric capacitor (SEC), which serves as a flexible and large-area strain gauge. Previous experiments have verified the SEC's capability to moni...