TY  - JOUR
A1  - Laflamme, Simon
A1  - Kollosche, Matthias
A1  - Connor, Jerome J.
A1  - Kofod, Guggi
T1  - Robust flexible capacitive surface sensor for structural health monitoring applications
JF  - Journal of engineering mechanics
N2  - Early detection of possible defects in civil infrastructure is vital to ensuring timely maintenance and extending structure life expectancy. The authors recently proposed a novel method for structural health monitoring based on soft capacitors. The sensor consisted of an off-the-shelf flexible capacitor that could be easily deployed over large surfaces, the main advantages being cost-effectiveness, easy installation, and allowing simple signal processing. In this paper, a capacitive sensor with tailored mechanical and electrical properties is presented, resulting in greatly improved robustness while retaining measurement sensitivity. The sensor is fabricated from a thermoplastic elastomer mixed with titanium dioxide and sandwiched between conductive composite electrodes. Experimental verifications conducted on wood and concrete specimens demonstrate the improved robustness, as well as the ability of the sensing method to diagnose and locate strain.
KW  - Strain gages
KW  - Structural health monitoring
KW  - Monitoring
KW  - Probe instruments
KW  - Strain gauge
KW  - Structural health monitoring
KW  - Strain monitoring
KW  - Capacitive sensor
KW  - Dielectric polymer
KW  - Stretchable sensor
KW  - Flexible membrane
KW  - Sensing skin
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000530
SN  - 0733-9399
SN  - 1943-7889
VL  - 139
IS  - 7
SP  - 879
EP  - 885
PB  - American Society of Civil Engineers
CY  - Reston
ER  -