This U.S.-Poland Cooperative Research award is for "Structural Health Monitoring Using Piezo-Generated Elastic Waves: Feasibility Study." The principal investigators are Grzegorz Kawiecki of the University of Tennessee for the U.S. side, and, for the Polish side, Dr. Adam Wysokowski of the Bridge, Concrete and Aggregate Research Center of the Road and Bridge Research Institute of Zmigrod-Weglewo, and Professor Jan Holnicki-Szulc of the Division of Computational Mechanics of the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. The objective is to show the feasibility of a new structural monitoring method by demonstrating its performance in realistic conditions. The system under considerations designed to monitor the structural health of civil engineering structures such as bridges, highway overpasses, dams, &c., in real time. Experiments with proof-of-concept specimens indicate that the proposed approach will make it possible not only to detect a damage but also to estimate its location and size. The system is based on measurements and analyses of anomalies in elastic wave propagation through the monitored structure. Elastic waves are generated and sensed by an array of transducers embedded in the structure or distributed over its surface. The signals transmitted among the elements of the transducer network are processed by a neural network-based system designed to detect anomalies associated with structural failures. The proposed project will follow three parallel paths: experimental, theoretical, and numerical.
This research in civil engineering fulfills the program objectives of bringing together leading experts in the U.S. and Poland to combine complementary efforts and capabilities in areas of strong mutual interest and competence on the basis of equality, reciprocity, and mutuality of benefit.
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