Piezoelectric Sensor With Segmented Sensing Areas for Structural Health Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems for composite materials in aerospace and aviation face limitations due to the anisotropic nature of composite materials, requiring dense sensor networks, sophisticated signal processing, and high complexity, leading to increased weight, power consumption, and maintenance costs, as well as inadequate performance under temperature and humidity variations.
Innovation Solution
A piezoelectric sensor with spatially separated sensing areas that vary in shape and distance based on the sensing direction, allowing for the generation of electrical signals that indicate both the energy and direction of elastic waves, enabling efficient localization and quantification of impacts, and a sensor node with a processing unit that can autonomously or remotely process signals, reducing complexity and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dense sensor networks are used to detect impacts in composite structures, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is divided into multiple spatially separated sensing areas (first and second sensing areas) that are electrically connected. This segmentation allows the sensor to detect directional information and impact locations more effectively, improving measurement precision without requiring a denser network of independent sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sensing areas are electrically connected and integrated into a single sensor unit. This merging enables the sensor to process directional and locational information internally, reducing the need for additional separate sensors and thereby decreasing device complexity and weight.
2Measurement precision
If sophisticated signal processing techniques are used to locate impacts, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy and computing power increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor performs preliminary directional detection by comparing signals from its spatially separated sensing areas before full signal processing occurs. This preliminary action provides coarse localization information that reduces the computational burden on subsequent sophisticated signal processing, thereby lowering energy consumption while maintaining precision.
3Reliability
If piezoelectric sensors are used to generate and receive elastic waves, then reliability of structural monitoring is improved, but weight and dimensions of the system increase
Solution Approach 1:
The piezoelectric sensor is implemented as a thin film or integrated element that can be applied to or incorporated into the composite structure. This thin-film approach maintains the reliability of elastic wave generation and detection while minimizing the added weight and dimensions of the monitoring system.
4Measurement precision
If multiple spatially separated sensing areas are used in a piezoelectric sensor, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sensing areas are electrically connected and integrated into a single sensor unit with unified processing. This merging approach enables the sensor to extract directional and energy information from impacts while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure, avoiding the complexity that would arise from treating each sensing area as a separate sensor.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for effective monitoring of structural integrity with reduced weight and energy consumption, enabling precise detection of impact locations and energies, and improved performance in anisotropic materials, while minimizing system dimensions and maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
a piezoelectric sensor (1) comprising a piezoelectric material (10) interposed between a first and a second electric contact element (11, 12)
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric sensor (1,100) comprising a piezoelectric material (10) interposed between a first (11) and a second (12) electric contact element. The first electric contact element (11) comprises at least two sensing areas (110, 111) spatially separated along a sensing direction. It also describes a sensor node that includes the piezoelectric sensor, a system and a method for monitoring the integrity of a structure using said piezoelectric sensor.