Research

Wireless Antenna Sensors for Strain and Crack Monitoring

An ultra-low-cost RFID solution has been investigated for monitoring stress concentration and crack formation in structures. In an RFID (radiofrequency identification) system, the reader beams electromagnetic energy to the RFID tag/sensor, which receives the energy and reflects electromagnetic signal back to the reader. Therefore, the sensor is wireless and doesn’t require battery power. When the RFID tag is under strain/deformation, the tag antenna shape changes and causes its electromagnetic resonance frequency to shift. This resonance frequency shift can be detected by the reader, and then used to derive the strain experienced by the RFID tag. Prototype sensors have been developed in collaboration with Prof. Manos Tentzeris‘s group in ECE and Prof. Roberto Leon‘s group in Roberto Leon’s group in CEE at Virginia Tech.
 

Selected Publications

  1. Li, D., and Wang, Y. (2020). “Thermally-stable wireless patch antenna sensor for strain and crack,” Sensors, 20(14): 3835.

  2. Li, D., and Wang, Y. (2019). “Thermally-stable passive wireless antenna sensor for strain sensing.” Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-9), St. Louis, MO, USA, August 4 – 7, 2019.

  3. Li, D., and Wang, Y. (2018). “Strain sensing rosettes using passive patch antennas.” Proceedings of SPIE, Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, Denver, CO, USA, March 4-8, 2018.

  4. Li, D., Cho, C., and Wang, Y. (2017). “Patch antenna sensor rosettes for surface strain measurement,” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Smart Infrastructure and Construction, 170(2), 39-49.

  5. Cho, C., Yi, X., Li, D., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2017). “An Eigenvalue Perturbation Solution for the Multi-Physics Simulation of Antenna Strain Sensors,” IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques, 2: 49-57.

  6. Yi, X., Cho, C., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2016). “Battery-free slotted patch antenna sensor for wireless strain and crack monitoring,” Smart Structures and Systems, 18(6): 1217-1231.

  7. Cho, C., Yi, X., Li, D., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2016). “Passive wireless frequency doubling antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing.” IEEE Sensors Journal, 16(14): 5725-5733.

  8. Yi, X., Wu, T., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2015). “Sensitivity modeling of an RFID-based strain-sensing antenna with dielectric constant change,” IEEE Sensors Journal, 15(11): 6147-6155.

  9. Cho, C., Yi, X., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M.M.(2015). “Multi-physics modeling and simulation of a frequency doubling antenna sensor for passive wireless strain sensing,” Proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM), Stanford CA, USA, September 1-3, 2015.

  10. Yi, X., Cho, C., Wang, Y., Cook, B., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2014). “Crack propagation measurement using a battery-free slotted patch antenna sensor,” Proceedings of the 7th Europe Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM), Nantes, France, July 8-11, 2014.

  11. Yi, X., Cho, C., Cook, B., Wang, Y.,Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2014). “A slotted patch antenna for wireless strain sensing,” Proceedings of the ASCE 2014 Structures Congress, Boston, MA, USA, April 3-5, 2014.

  12. Cho, C.,  Yi, X., Wang, Y.,Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2014). “Compressive strain sensing measurement using RFID patch antenna sensors,” Proceedings of SPIE, Sensors and Smart Structures,Technologies for Civil, Mechanical,and Aerospace Systems, 9061, San Diego, CA, USA, March 10-14, 2014.

  13. Yi, X., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2013). “Multi-physics modeling and simulation of a slotted patch antenna for wireless strain sensing,” Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM), Stanford, CA, USA, September 10-12, 2013.

  14. Cho, C., Yi, X., Wang, Y., Le, T., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2013). “Inkjet-printed RFID antenna sensor for strain monitoring,” Proceeding of the 11th International Conference on Structural Safety & Reliability (ICOSSAR), New York, NY, USA, June 16-20, 2013.

  15. Yi, X., Cho, C., Cook, B., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2013). “Design and simulation of a slotted patch antenna sensor for wireless strain sensing,” Proceedings of SPIE, Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security, 8694 : 86941J, San Diego, California, USA, 2013.

  16. Yi, X., Cho, C., Cooper, J., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2013).”Passive wireless antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing – electromagnetic modeling, simulation, and testing,” Smart Materials and Structures, 22(8): 085009.

  17. Yi, X., Cook, B., Cho, C., Cooper, J., Vyas, R., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2012). “Passive frequency doubling antenna sensor for wireless strain sensing,” Proceeding of the ASME 2012 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2012), Stone Mountain, GA, USA, September 19-21, 2012.

  18. Yi, X., Cooper, J., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2012). “Wireless crack sensing using an RFID-based folded patch antenna,” Proceeding of the 6th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2012), Lake Como, Italy, July 8-12, 2012.

  19. Yi, X., Fang, C.-H., Cooper, J., Cho, C., Vyas, R., Wang, Y., Leon, R.T., and Tentzeris, M.M. (2012). “Strain sensing through a passive wireless sensor array,” Proceedings of the ASCE 2012 Structures Congress, Chicago, IL, USA, March 29 – 31, 2012.

  20. Yi, X., Cho, C., Fang, C.-H., Cooper, J., Vyas, R., Lakafosis, V., Wang, Y., Leon, R.T., and Tentzeris, M.M. (2012). “Wireless strain and crack sensing using a folded patch antenna,” Proceedings of 6th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP), Prague, Czech Republic, March 26, 2012.

  21. Ahbe, D., Beer, S., Zwick, T., Wang, Y. and Tentzeris, M.M. (2012). “Analysis and design of dual-band antennas for frequency doubler based wireless strain sensing,” Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, IEEE, 11: 216-219.

  22. Yi, X., Vyas, R., Cho, C., Fang, C.-H., Cooper, J., Wang, Y., Leon, R. T., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2012). “Thermal effects on a passive wireless antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing.” Proceedings of SPIE, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical and Aerospace Systems,8345:83450F, San Diego, CA, USA, March 11-15, 2012.

  23. Lee, H., Shaker, G., Lakafosis, V., Vyas, R., Thai, T., Kim, S., Yi, X., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2012). “Antenna-based “smart skin” sensors for sustainable, wireless sensor networks.” Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, Athens, Greece, March 19-21, 2012.

  24. Yi, X., Wu, T., Lantz, G., Cooper, J., Cho, C., Wang, Y., Tentzeris, M.M. and Leon, R.T. (2011). “Sensing resolution and measurement range of a passive wireless strain sensor,” [Student Best Paper Award] Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford, CA, USA, September 13 – 15, 2011.

  25. Yi, X., Wu, T., Lantz, G., Wang, Y., Leon, R.T. and Tentzeris, M.M. (2011). “Thickness variation study of RFID-based folded patch antennas for strain sensing,” Proceedings of SPIE, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems, 7981: San Diego, CA, March 6 – 10, 2011.

  26. Yi, X., Wu, T., Wang, Y., Leon, R.T., Tentzeris, M.M., and Lantz, G. (2011). “Passive wireless smart-skin sensor using RFID-based folded patch antennas,” International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 2(1): 22-38.

  27. Lakafosis, V., Yi, X., Le, T., Gebara, E., Wang, Y., and Tentzeris, M. M. (2011). “Wireless sensing with smart skins.” Proceedings of 2011 IEEE Sensors, Limerick, Ireland, October 28-31, 2011. 
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