A study on PVDF sensor using wireless experimental system for bridge structural local monitoring

Originated from aerospace area, smart material structures have been a research hotspot in the application of engineering. For structural health monitoring within the context of civil engineering, the research about high-performance sensing units are very important. As one of the piezoelectric materials belonging to smart ones, Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) is widely regarded for its property advantages of low cost, good mechanical abilities, high sensibility, and corrosion resistance. In this paper, for the validation of PVDF sensors as sensing units for bridge structural local monitoring, wireless experimental systems of PVDF sensor for structural local monitoring on a bridge model and beam were built. Firstly, based on the operating mechanism, the measurement circuit and the characteristics of PVDF are introduced. Secondly, system framework of PVDF sensor for local monitoring is proposed, a bridge model is built, wireless sensor kits are then developed. Finally, Bridge damage monitoring experiments have been done for structural local health monitoring using PVDF sensors. The experimental results show that PVDF sensor can handle structural impact response monitoring and damage detection of civil engineering, and the developed wireless sensor experimental system can be easily implemented for use in practical monitoring engineering.