The paper introduces for the first time a new low-cost, non-destructive sensor to remotely monitor structural displacements (patent pending). The sensor consists of a two-element antenna array, operating at microwave or millimeter wave frequencies, remotely interrogated by a reader. The elements are stuck on the two sides of a crack to be monitored, no matter how large the crack is. The operating principle is based on the dependence of the array radiation characteristics on the element distance normalized to the wavelength. A combination of electromagnetic interferometry and RFID technology allows the displacement of the antennas with respect to a reference configuration to be remotely determined. It is demonstrated that null measurements of the radiation pattern at microwave frequencies allow structural displacements to be predicted with uncertainties of the order of millimeters. The sensor accuracy is directly related to the wavelength of the radiated electromagnetic field
A New Wireless Displacement Sensor Based on Reverse Design of Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Antenna Array / V. Rizzoli; A. Costanzo; E. Montanari; A. Benedetti. - In: IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL. - ISSN 1530-437X. - STAMPA. - 9:(2009), pp. 1557-1566. [10.1109/JSEN.2009.2026992]
A New Wireless Displacement Sensor Based on Reverse Design of Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Antenna Array
RIZZOLI, VITTORIO;COSTANZO, ALESSANDRA;MONTANARI, EMANUELE;BENEDETTI, ANDREA
2009
Abstract
The paper introduces for the first time a new low-cost, non-destructive sensor to remotely monitor structural displacements (patent pending). The sensor consists of a two-element antenna array, operating at microwave or millimeter wave frequencies, remotely interrogated by a reader. The elements are stuck on the two sides of a crack to be monitored, no matter how large the crack is. The operating principle is based on the dependence of the array radiation characteristics on the element distance normalized to the wavelength. A combination of electromagnetic interferometry and RFID technology allows the displacement of the antennas with respect to a reference configuration to be remotely determined. It is demonstrated that null measurements of the radiation pattern at microwave frequencies allow structural displacements to be predicted with uncertainties of the order of millimeters. The sensor accuracy is directly related to the wavelength of the radiated electromagnetic fieldI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
