Abstract
frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are periodic arrays of conductive elements or apertures that reflect and/or transmit incident electromagnetic energy. Their response depends on parameters, such as element shape, unit cell dimensions, dielectric properties, and the local environment, making them suitable for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. This article presents a dual-parameter FSS-based sensor design capable of measuring small-scale uni-directional longitudinal strain (0%–0.5%) and temperature (23 ◦C–223 ◦C). The sensor integrates two-unit cells: 1) a patch-based cell on a thin substrate for strain sensing, offering enhanced strain transfer and superior sensitivity (~16–18 MHz/0.1%) and 2) a loop-based cell with a temperature-sensitive dielectric for temperature measurements, achieving a sensitivity of ~0.54 MHz/°C. The dual-measurand capability is achieved by designing the sensor with two distinct resonant frequencies, each corresponding to a specific parameter. Simulation and measurement results demonstrate that the proposed sensor achieves greater strain sensitivity as compared to existing FSS-based strain sensors while maintaining temperature sensitivity on par with existing FSS temperature sensors. The study also characterizes thermal expansion-induced errors through simulation and proposes a compensation approach that successfully improves sensitivity. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of FSS-based sensors as compact, multimeasurand solutions for SHM applications, offering high sensitivity and reliability with minimal cross-sensitivity effects.
Recommended Citation
S. Muthyala Ramesh et al., "Dual Parameter FSS-Based Sensing for Structural Health Monitoring Applications," IEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 4, article no. 9500812, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Jan 2025.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/OJIM.2025.3604985
Department(s)
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
frequency selective surface (FSS); strain sensing; structural health monitoring (SHM); temperature sensing; thermal expansion error; wireless sensing
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2768-7236
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2025
Comments
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Grant 80NSSC-18-C-0012