Corrosion assessment of structural components using electro mechanical impedance

Rapid innovation in interdisciplinary technology emphasized the data acquisition system to evaluate the structural integrity by combining with advance sensing techniques. These smart sensors with impedance methodology has shown an excellent potential in assessing the structural health condition and provided an alternative to many sophisticated Non destructive monitoring systems. The sensitivity of electro mechanical impedance technique in detecting local incipient damages is enhanced with piezoelectric mechanism of lead zirconate titanate materials and with conductance signatures these materials can determine the dynamic variations in structural properties more effectively. In the present work numerical finite element analysis is conducted on simply supported RCC beam in Abaqus software with reinforcement subjected to corrosion in five stages with different reduction rates and coupled with piezoelectric transducers along the length to implement the impedance strategy. These surface bonded piezoelectric patches are electrically excited with an external voltage under specific frequency range to conduct linear perturbation harmonic analysis and the output conductance responses of healthy and corroded beams from different sensor locations are captured and compared. The peak shifting nature of signature pattern will serve as an indicator to diagnose the corrosion severity and propagation in structural components. The simulation results of proposed impedance technique showed the feasibility of employing piezoelectric materials to identify corrosion activity in structural members with electromechanical conductivity signatures.