(Funded by the NSF, Grant# 0132266)
Project Summary
We work on a design theory for wireless systems that monitor the condition of remotely powered, possible embedded, strain gauge smart sensors, as for example, may be used for determining the reinforced concrete walls or transportation bridges.This research is to move the field of remote wireless technology into the field of material damage and health assessment. The results would be of considerable practical importance since they would allow for the remote evaluation of things, such as earthquake damage or age fatigue, without the risk of loss of human lives. It also provides a way of constantly monitoring the health of bridges, detecting damages before they can cause serious results, such as collapse.
These preliminary investigations will involve determining the power handling capabilities of a chip consisting of active analog VLSI transistorized bridge circuits which determine the state of the strain gauges. Strain gauges will be used and will serve as one arm in the active bridge which will be sent to mosis for fabrication into a VLSI chip. The attenuation characteristics of structural materials, such as reinforced concrete are also to be determined as well as a means of transmitting data into and out of the embedded bridge. As a preliminary proof of concept the remote system will be mounted on the exterior of a wall whereas longer range studies will incorporate it embedded inside of walls.
Project Progress
| First Year Tasks | Status | Comment |
| Layout of a VLSI bridge chip | Completed | |
| Testing for determining characteristics of concrete | Completed | Reinforced concrete dielectric properties is still under study. |
| Converting RF power into DC bias power | Under study | |
| Design of surface receiver | Under study | |
| Design of surface transmitter | Under study | |
| Passive powered sensing system | Under study | |
| Embedded strain gauges | Under study |
Results
Under construction.Project Participants
- Professor Robert W. Newcomb PI
- Professor Amde M. Amde Co-PI
- Professor K. J. Ray Liu Co-PI
- Professor Kawthar A. Zaki Co-PI
- Ms. Yu Jiang G.R.A.
- Mr. Ming Wang G.R.A.
- Ms. Azadeh Davoodi G.R.A.
- Mr. Juventino Rosas MS student
- Mr. Antimmario J. Jackson BS student under summer ASPIRE Resarch Scholarship Program
Contact Information
- Mailing Address:
- Professor Robert W. Newcomb newcomb@eng.umd.edu
- Professor, Civil Eng., Amde M. Amde amde@eng.umd.edu
- Professor K. J. Ray Liu kjrliu@eng.umd.edu
- Professor Kawthar A. Zaki zaki@eng.umd.edu
- Ms. Yu Jiang jiangyu@glue.umd.edu
- Mr. Ming Wang wming@glue.umd.edu
- Ms. Azadeh Davoodi azade@Glue.umd.edu
- Mr. Juventino Rosas jrosas@Glue.umd.edu
- Mr. Antimmario J. Jackson ajjacks@Glue.umd.edu
Deptartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742 USA
Related links
Microsystems Laboratory, University of Maryland