Structural identification and damage diagnosis using self-sensing piezo-impedance transducers

The use of smart materials, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), has accelerated developments in the fields of structural identification and automated structural health monitoring (SHM). One such technique that has made much progress is the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique, which employs self-sensing piezo-impedance transducers. In this technique, a PZT patch is surface bonded to the structure to be monitored and its corresponding electro-mechanical admittance signature is used for damage detection. This paper introduces a new method for identifying structures from the measured admittance signatures in terms of equivalent structural parameters, whereby the identified parameters are used for damage characterization. The new method has been applied to a truss, a beam and a concrete cube, and found to be able to successfully perform structural identification and damage diagnosis. In addition, several advantages have been ascertained in comparison with the conventional, non-parametric statistical methods.