Overview of piezoelectric impedance-based health monitoring and path forward

Abstract

In this paper we summarize the hardware and software issues of impedance-based structural health monitoring based on piezoelectric materials. The basic concept of the method is to use high-frequency structural excitations to monitor the local area of a structure for changes in structural impedance that would indicate imminent damage. A brief overview of research work on experimental and theoretical studies on various structures is considered and several research papers on these topics are cited. This paper concludes with a discussion of future research areas and path forward.