Load Monitoring of the Pin-Connected Structure Using Time Reversal Technique and Piezoceramic Transducers—A Feasibility Study

Abstract

An effective approach using time reversal technique and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducer was described in this paper to monitor the loading status of pin-connected structures, which are widely used in the construction industry. A tension-controllable structure with a pin connection was fabricated and used for experimentation. Two PZT patch sensors were mounted on the pin and on the connected structural surface. In the experiment, the time reversal process was performed by varying the tension on the pin joint, and the experimental results demonstrate that the peak value of the focused signal, detected by the PZT sensor, increases with the load on the pin connection. In addition, the entire experimental process was repeated seven times to verify the repeatability and consistency of the proposed method. Subsequently, the reliability of the experimental results was verified in an environment with high disturbances. All the test results show that the proposed method using PZT sensors along with the time reversal technique has potential to be employed in practical applications, especially monitoring the load of a cable-deck connection in a cable-strut bridge in an environment with severe disturbances.