Piezoelectric Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Sensor for Structural Health Monitoring and Stiffness Sensing

Strengthening and repairing infrastructure with fiber-reinforced polymers while achieving low-cost, real-time monitoring of cracks in engineering structures is highly challenging. Herein, a piezoelectric glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (piezo-GFRP) sensor is used to monitor the mechanical behavior of cement beams with cracks under cyclic bending. The output voltage and frequency of the sensor are shown to be effective feedback signals for determining the mechanical behavior. The thin piezo-GFRP sensor shows sufficient piezoelectric sensitivity to monitor the slight variations in the mechanical behavior of the cement beams during the early stages of cracking. It is indicated in this result that such sensors have the potential for the multifunctional structural health monitoring of engineering structures.

Automated summary

In this study, a piezoelectric glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (piezo-GFRP) sensor was used to monitor the mechanical behavior of cement beams with cracks in real-time. The output voltage and frequency of the sensor were proven to be effective feedback signals for determining the mechanical behavior. The results indicated that this thin piezo-GFRP sensor has sufficient sensitivity to monitor slight variations in the mechanical behavior of cement beams during the early stages of cracking. Therefore, these sensors have the potential for multifunctional structural health monitoring of engineering structures.