A practical modification to coaxial cables as damage sensor with TDR in obscured structural members and RC piles
Structural Monitoring and Maintenance, cilt.10, sa.2, ss.133-154, 2023 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 10 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2023
- Doi Numarası: 10.12989/smm.2023.10.2.133
- Dergi Adı: Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.133-154
- Anahtar Kelimeler: cable sensor, coaxial cable, obscured structural members, RC pile, TDR
- Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Obscured structural members are mostly under-evaluated during condition assessment due to lack of visual inspection capability. Insufficient information about the integrity of these structural members poses a significant risk for public safety. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is a novel approach in structural health monitoring (SHM). Ordinary coaxial cables “as is” without a major modification are not suitable for SHM with TDR. The objective of this study is to propose a practical and cost-effective modification approach to commercially available coaxial cables in order to use them as a “cable sensor” for damage detection with the TDR equipment for obscured structural members. The experimental validation and assessment of the proposed modification approach was achieved by conducting 3-point bending tests of the model piles as a representative obscured structural member. It can be noted that the RG59/U-6 and RG6/U-4 cable sensors expose higher strain sensitivity in comparison with non-modified “as is” versions of the cables used. As a result, the cable sensors have the capability of sensing both the presence and the location of a structural damage with a maximum aberration of 3 cm. Furthermore, the crack development can be monitored by the RG59/U-6 cable sensor with a simple calibration.