Structural Health Monitoring: with Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors

Structural Health Monitoring with Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors is the first comprehensive textbook to provide background information, theoretical modeling, and experimental examples on the principal technologies involved in SHM.

It not only provides students, engineers and other interested technical specialists with the foundational knowledge and necessary tools for understanding modern sensing materials and systems, but also shows them how to employ this knowledge in actual engineering situations.

• Addresses the problem of aging structures and explains how SHM can alleviate their situation and prolong their useful life.

• Provides a step by step presentation on how Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors (PWAS) are used to detect and quantify the presence of damage in structures.

• Presents the underlying theories (piezoelectricity, vibration, wave propagation, etc.) and experimental techniques (E/M impedance, PWAS phased arrays, etc.) to be employed in successful SHM applications.

• Provides an understanding of how to interpret sensor signal patterns such as various wave forms, including analytical techniques like Fast Fourier Transform, Short-time Fourier Transform and Wavelet Transform.