Comparison of piezoelectric limit sensors with FEM analysis results of compression failure of brick masonry specimens

Abstract

At present, approximately 60% of world's population lives in masonry structures. Some of these structures are found in developing countries experiencing frequent earthquakes. Strong earthquakes tend to collapse these brittle, non-engineered structures, causing great harm to humans when these are residential structures. The purpose of this study is to develop simple, low-cost sensor systems for structural health monitoring using piezoelectric films. Our failure prediction system aimed at avoiding human suffering caused by earthquake-induced building collapses. Our novel sensors comprise a glass pipe directly installed in brick masonry specimens or a metal holder with a glass pipe containing a piezoelectric film to measure the mechanical stress during static loading tests. For this purpose, brick masonry specimens were subjected to compression testing to evaluate their mechanical properties and to investigate the sensor response. When used in measurements, the piezoelectric limit sensors responded before and during the breaking of the brick masonry specimens, demonstrating the applicability of these new piezoelectric limit sensors to detect incipient failure during static loading tests. We verified that the experimental load values at which strong sensor signals were detected coincide with the breaking load values predicted by finite element method analysis.