Application of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sensors Contactless NDT of Concrete Structures

The utility of micro-electro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) for application in air-coupled (contactless or noncontact) sensing to concrete nondestructive testing (NDT) is studied in this paper. The fundamental operation and characteristics of MEMS are first described. Then application of MEMS sensors to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suyun Ham, John S. Popovics
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-04-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/15/4/9078
Description
Summary:The utility of micro-electro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) for application in air-coupled (contactless or noncontact) sensing to concrete nondestructive testing (NDT) is studied in this paper. The fundamental operation and characteristics of MEMS are first described. Then application of MEMS sensors toward established concrete test methods, including vibration resonance, impact-echo, ultrasonic surface wave, and multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW), is demonstrated. In each test application, the performance of MEMS is compared with conventional contactless and contact sensing technology. Favorable performance of the MEMS sensors demonstrates the potential of the technology for applied contactless NDT efforts. Objective: To illustrate the utility of air-coupled MEMS sensors for concrete NDT, as compared with conventional sensor technology.
ISSN:1424-8220