A New Clustering Method for Damage Assessment of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Using Piezoelectric Transducers and a Wireless Impedance- Admittance Monitoring System

Nowadays there is an extended need for real-time applications of Structural Health Monitoring in existing concrete structures. This paper deals with the application of a new, low-cost and wireless SHM system that utilises small-sized piezoelectric transducers for continuous damage assessment of Fibre Reinforced Concrete specimen. A PZT-based Wireless impedance-Admittance Monitoring System used for detection of damage degree due to concrete cracking. The Electro-Mechanical Impedance signatures of an array of externally bonded PZT sensors in FRC specimen subjected to four-point bending in several damage states. Quantitative damage evaluation is achieved using the frequency signal measurements of the PZT transducers and comparisons of several commonly statistical indexes. Further, a new damage index based on k-means clustering methods that provides more reliable results on damage identification is also proposed and evaluated herein.

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