Experimental Evaluation of a Low-Cost RFID-Based Sensor to Crack Propagation
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 2
Abstract
A passive radio frequency identification (RFID)-based crack sensor was developed and its sensitivity to crack propagation on metallic plates has been experimentally validated. A crack propagation test method was designed to evaluate any backscatter power-based crack sensor to monitor propagating cracks on a metallic surface. This new method uses plate specimens designed for standard fracture toughness testing. Systematic increases in displacement with a hydraulic universal test machine to propagate the crack were performed. Using digital imagery, the physical characteristics of the crack and fracture mode were determined with high precision. Linear elastic fracture was induced so as to more closely resemble the fracture mode that is to be expected in high strength steel bridge girders. The sensor was tested as a single unit and in various arrays of multiple units for increased pervasiveness in monitoring. A piecewise relationship between the damage index and crack opening was found. This relationship is a significant finding that demonstrates that RFID-based crack sensing is a feasible tool for bridge inspection.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by the Joint Highway Research Advisory Council of the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Transportation through Project 16-1 of the Connecticut Cooperative Transportation Research Program and by the US Department of Education under the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship Program (Award No. P200A140212). The contents reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the accuracy of the information presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The views and conclusions contained in this document should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US Department of Education.
References
Anderson, T. L. 2005. Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
ASCE. 2017. “Bridges.” Infrastructure Report Card. Accessed September 19, 2017. https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Bridges-Final.pdf.
ASTM. 2012. Standard test method for plane-strain fracture toughness of metallic materials. ASTM E399-12e3. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Blaber, J. 2013. “DIC Algorithms.” Accessed July 25, 2017. http://ncorr.com/index.php/dic-algorithms#1_1.
Chen, G., F. Tang, and Z. Zhou. 2009. Coaxial cable sensors and sensing instrument for crack detection in bridge structures. Phase I: Field qualification/Validation planning (C-06-34). Albany, NY: New York State Department of Transportation.
Dexter, R. J., and J. M. Ocel. 2013. Manual for repair and retrofit of fatigue cracks in steel bridges. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 2018. “National Bridge Inspection Standards: Inspection Frequency, 23 CFR §650.311.” Code Fed. Regs. 356, in press.
Haghani, R., M. Al-Emrani, and M. Heshmati. 2012. “Fatigue-prone details in steel bridges.” Buildings 2 (4): 456–476. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings2040456.
Ihn, J., and F. Chang. 2004. “Detection and monitoring of hidden fatigue crack growth using a built-in piezoelectric sensor/actuator network. Part I: Diagnostics.” Smart Mater. Struct. 13 (3): 609–620. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/13/3/020.
Impinj. 2018. “Speedway R420 Rain RFID Reader.” Accessed January 29, 2018. https://www.impinj.com/platform/connectivity/speedway-r420/.
Kalansuriya, P., R. Bhattacharyya, and S. Sarma. 2013. “RFID tag antenna-based sensing for pervasive surface crack detection.” IEEE Sensors J. 13 (5): 1564–1570. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2013.2240155.
Kim, Y. J., and K. A. Harries. 2011. “Fatigue behavior of damaged steel beams repaired with CFRP strips.” Eng. Struct. 33 (5): 1491–1502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2011.01.019.
Koňár, R., and M. Mičian. 2014. “Non-destructive testing of welds in gas pipelines repairs with phased array ultrasonic technique.” Manuf. Technol. 14 (1): 42–47.
Kong, X., J. Li, W. Collins, C. Bennett, S. Laflamme, and H. Jo. 2017. “A large-area strain sensing technology for monitoring fatigue cracks in steel bridges.” Smart Mater. Struct. 26 (8): 85024. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/aa75ef.
Kwon, K., and D. M. Frangopol. 2010. “Bridge fatigue reliability assessment using probability density functions of equivalent stress range based on field monitoring data.” Int. J. Fatigue 32 (8): 1221–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2010.01.002.
Martínez-Castro, R. E., S. Jang, J. Nicholas, and R. Bansal. 2017. “Experimental assessment of an RFID-based crack sensor for steel structures.” Smart Mater. Struct. 26 (8): 85035. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/aa7cd8.
Mertz, D. 2015. Steel bridge design handbook design for fatigue. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
Mohammad, I., and H. Huang. 2011. “An antenna sensor for crack detection and monitoring.” Adv. Struct. Eng. 14 (1): 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1260/1369-4332.14.1.47.
Ngai, E. W. T., K. K. L. Moon, F. J. Riggins, and C. Y. Yi. 2008. “RFID research: An academic literature review (1995–2005) and future research directions.” Int. J. Prod. Econ. 112 (2): 510–520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.05.004.
Roberts, T. M., and M. Talebzadeh. 2003. “Acoustic emission monitoring of fatigue crack propagation.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 59 (6): 695–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0143-974X(02)00064-0.
Sadler, D. J., and C. H. Ahn. 2001. “On-chip eddy current sensor for proximity sensing and crack detection.” Sens. Actuators A 91 (3): 340–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-4247(01)00605-7.
Stutzman, W. L., and G. A. Thiele. 2013. Antenna theory and design. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Yao, Y., and B. Glisic. 2015. “Detection of steel fatigue cracks with strain sensing sheets based on large area electronics.” Sensors 15 (4): 8088–8108. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150408088.
Yi, X., C. Cho, J. Cooper, Y. Wang, M. M. Tentzeris, and R. T. Leon. 2013. “Passive wireless antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing—Electromagnetic modeling, simulation, and testing.” Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (8): 85009. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/22/8/085009.
Zhang, J., and G. Tian. 2014. “An evolution of RFID grids for crack detection.” In Proc., 2014 IEEE Far East Forum on Nondestructive Evaluation/Testing, 358–362. Piscataway, NJ: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Zhang, J., G. Tian, A. Marindra, A. Sunny, and A. Zhao. 2017. “A review of passive RFID tag antenna-based sensors and systems for structural health monitoring applications.” Sensors 17 (2): 265. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17020265.
Zhang, Q., M. J. Crisp, R. V. Penty, and I. H. White. 2015. “Reduction of proximity effects on UHF passive RFID systems by using tags with polarization diversity.” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. 63 (5): 2264–2271. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2015.2403875.
Zhang, Y. 2006. “In situ fatigue crack detection using piezoelectric paint sensor.” J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct. 17 (10): 843–852. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X06059957.
Zou, L., X. Bao, Y. Wan, and L. Chen. 2005. “Coherent probe-pump-based Brillouin sensor for centimeter-crack detection.” Opt. Lett. 30 (4): 370–372. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.30.000370.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 2 • March 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 1, 2018
Accepted: Jul 25, 2018
Published online: Jan 9, 2019
Published in print: Mar 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jun 9, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.