Abstract

This project studies a wireless patch antenna as a novel strain/crack sensing technique for structural health monitoring (SHM). The strain/crack induced resonance frequency shift of the antenna can be wirelessly detected and utilized to estimate the surface strain and crack propagation. However, temperature fluctuation can generate some unwanted changes in resonance frequency and introduce significant noises in measurement. This project studies a thermally stable patch antenna sensor through both numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Using a substrate material with a steady dielectric constant, a patch antenna sensor is designed to perform reliably under temperature fluctuations. In addition, a dual-mode patch antenna sensor is designed to achieve long interrogation distance. Various types of materials used in substrate are investigated through laboratory tests. Strain/crack sensing performance has been validated through multi-physics simulations and experiments. The patch antenna sensors are demonstrated to be effective in wireless strain/crack measurements and have potential for large-scale monitoring of structures.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

INSPIRE - University Transportation Center

Funder(s)

Financial support for this INSPIRE UTC project was provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (USDOT/OST-R) under Grant No. 69A3551747126 through INSPIRE University Transportation Center (http://inspire-utc.mst.edu) at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Grant Number

USDOT # 69A3551747126

Sponsor(s)

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Comments

Principal Investigator: Yang Wang, Ph.D.

Grant Period: 11/30/2016 - 09/30/2024

Project Period: 03/01/2017 - 03/31/2020

The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the INSPIRE University Transportation Center.

Keywords and Phrases

Patch antenna sensor, thermal stability, strain, crack, wireless sensing, RFID

Report Number

INSPIRE-001

Document Type

Technical Report

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2025 Missouri University of Science and Technology, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

March 31, 2020

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