Development of a Wireless MEMS Multifunction Sensor System and Field Demonstration of Embedded Sensors for Monitoring Concrete Pavements

Project Details
STATUS

Completed

START DATE

12/03/12

END DATE

08/31/16

FOCUS AREAS

Infrastructure

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, CP Tech Center, CTRE, PROSPER
SPONSORS

Iowa Department of Transportation
Iowa Highway Research Board

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Halil Ceylan

Director, PROSPER

Co-Principal Investigator
Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan
Co-Principal Investigator
Peter Taylor

Director, CP Tech Center

Co-Principal Investigator
Sunghwan Kim

Associate Director, PROSPER

Co-Principal Investigator
Liang Dong

About the research

Pavements tend to deteriorate with time under repeated traffic and/or environmental loading. By detecting pavement distresses and damage early enough, it is possible for transportation agencies to develop more effective pavement maintenance and rehabilitation programs and thereby achieve significant cost and time savings. The structural health monitoring (SHM) concept can be considered as a systematic method for assessing the structural state of pavement infrastructure systems and documenting their condition. Over the past several years, this process has traditionally been accomplished through the use of wired sensors embedded in bridge and highway pavement. However, the use of wired sensors has limitations for long-term SHM and presents other associated cost and safety concerns. Recently, micro-electromechanical sensors and systems (MEMS) and nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) have emerged as advanced/smart-sensing technologies with potential for cost-effective and long-term SHM.

This two-pronged study evaluated the performance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) MEMS sensors embedded in concrete pavement (Final Report Volume I) and developed a wireless MEMS multifunctional sensor system for health monitoring of concrete pavement (Final Report Volume II).

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