Application of Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Sensor in the Monitoring of Concrete Structure Strain

This study designed a piezoelectric ultrasonic sensor based on the principles of piezoelectric sensor and ultrasonic inspection and used to monitor the concrete structure strains. The observed results demonstrated that the compressive strength of concrete with different ages were different. The first wave amplitude and waveform (peak-peak) of the cement samples under different compressive strength suggested an increasing tendency which confirmed a proportional relation. Moreover, the wave form and frequency were also different. The experiment on different degrees of cracks found that the cracks with higher degree had weaker monitoring signals. The presented study verified that piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors are useful in monitoring the strains in the concrete structure.