Structural health monitoring of reinforced concrete beam using piezoelectric energy harvesting system

There has been focus in recent times in the creation of smart, wireless sensor networks for the purposes of Structural Health Monitoring of large scale civil infrastructure. However, the power requirements of such networks are dependent on finite batteries, which limit the effectiveness of such a system. The use of energy harvesters, however, offers a viable and attractive solution to this problem. This paper investigates the use of such energy harvesters not only to power wireless sensor nodes, but to also act in the process as a damage detection tool. The properties and creation of such energy harvesters is detailed in full. The effects of damage on a simply supported reinforced concrete beam are investigated through finite element analysis. The use of the energy harvesters for damage detection is subsequently investigated and the feasibility of using such harvesters is experimentally validated. The simultaneous power of wireless sensor nodes by the harvesters is determined and an energy harvesting circuit is examined in this regard. This paper establishes the basis and viability of using an energy harvesting system for use in this dual role.