TY - CONF A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Stührenberg, Jan A1 - Tandon, Aditya A1 - Dragos, Kosmas A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Smarsly, Kay T1 - Investigation of long-term embedded RFID sensors for structural health monitoring N2 - Ensuring the health of civil engineering structures is crucial for the safety and longevity of the built environment. In this direction, structural health monitoring (SHM) has been increasingly employed, providing insight into the structural behavior, based on sensor data representing structural responses. This paper investigates the plausibility of embedding sensors into concrete structures for SHM, leveraging radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, in an attempt to enable the passive operation of sensors without continuous power supply and to reduce potential sources of interference. In contrast to conventional SHM sensors, the uninterrupted operation of embedded sensors must be ensured because post-installation interventions are either impractical or impossible. RFID technology enables wireless data acquisition and energy transmission without mechanical impact on civil engineering structures, although it may be challenging when RFID sensors are embedded in concrete. This study presents a durable passive embedded RFID sensor system (i.e., a system without batteries), including the selection of components, such as housing and cable materials, suitable for withstanding the aggressive environment of concrete without damaging the sensitive electronics or contaminating the data recorded by the sensors. The proposed sensor system is validated in laboratory tests, the results of which provide insights into the influence of each component and are intended to advance the implementation of embedded sensor systems. T2 - IEEE Sensors 2024 CY - Kobe, Japan DA - 20.10.2024 KW - Structural health monitoring KW - RFID-based sensors KW - Smart sensors KW - Embedded sensors PY - 2024 SN - 979-8-3503-6351-7 DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/SENSORS60989.2024.10785220 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-62162 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartelmeß, Jürgen A1 - Zimmek, David A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Schäferling, M. T1 - Fibre optic ratiometric fluorescence pH sensor for monitoring corrosion in concrete N2 - In this communication a novel concept for pH sensing is introduced which is specifically adapted to monitor carbonation induced corrosion in concrete structures. The method is based on a ratiometric measurement principle, exploiting the pH sensitive colour switching of thymol blue in the basic pH regime and the emissive properties of two different (Zn)CdSe/ZnS core shell quantum dots. The transition point of thymol blue in a Hydrogel D4 matrix was determined to be at around pH 11.6, which fits ideally to the intended application. Next to the fundamental spectroscopic characterization of the ratiometric response, a new design for a sensor head, suitable for the incorporation into concrete matrices is presented. Toward this, a manufacturing process was developed which includes the preparation of a double layer of polymers containing either thymol blue or a quantum dot mixture inside a porous ceramic tube. Results of a proof-of-priciple performance test of the sensor head in solutions of different pH and in cement specimens are presented, with encouraging results paving the way for future field tests in concrete. KW - Fiber optic sensing KW - PH monitoring in concrete KW - Embedded sensors KW - Ratiometric fluorescence PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9an02348h VL - 145 IS - 6 SP - 2111 EP - 2117 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-50381 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Müller, Maximilian A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Embedded passive RFID-based sensors for moisture monitoring in concrete N2 - Damages in infrastructure due to moisture amount to billions of Euros every year. For a more predictive structural health monitoring in civil engineering, the detection and monitoring of hazardous moisture in steel reinforced concrete constructions is of high interest. The sensors have to be wireless, elsewise they weaken the concrete cover of the rebars. The lifetime of such constructions is normally decades, thus the sensors have to be battery-free and fully passive. Considering these requirements, passive RFID-based sensors are developed. Communication and energy supply are realized wireless via the electromagnetic field of a RFID transmitter. The passive RFIDbased sensors are embedded into the concrete to enable the monitoring of moisture transport in porous materials. Results of the hydration process are shown. T2 - IEEE Sensors 2017 CY - Glasgow, Scotland, UK DA - 30.10.2017 KW - Embedded sensors KW - Wireless sensors KW - Passive sensors KW - RFID-based sensors KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Moisture PY - 2017 SN - 978-1-5386-4056-2 DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSENS.2017.8234166 SP - 870 EP - 872 PB - IEEE AN - OPUS4-43033 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Kammermeier, Michael A1 - Müller, Maximilian A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph T1 - Transmission characteristics of RFID sensor systems embedded in concrete N2 - Completely embedded sensor systems for long-term operation offer innovative possibilities for structural health monitoring of concrete structures. Measuring of relevant parameters, e.g., temperature, humidity, or indication of corrosion can be performed with low energy sensors. This allows to implement passive RFID sensor systems without cable connection and battery, which are power supplied exclusively by the electromagnetic field from the external reader device. To evaluate characteristics and conditions of this concept, a systematical investigation of the transmission characteristics with variation of relevant parameters, as communication frequency, installation depth, type of concrete, moisture content, etc. is currently carried out in an interdisciplinary research project at BAM. First results are presented in this paper. T2 - IEEE Sensors 2016 CY - Orlando, FL, USA DA - 30.10.2016 KW - Embedded sensors KW - Energy harvesting KW - Wireless sensors KW - RFID sensors KW - Transmission characteristics KW - Structural health monitoring PY - 2016 SN - 978-1-4799-8287-5 SN - 1930-0395 SP - 1541 EP - 1543 PB - IEEE AN - OPUS4-38388 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Transmission characteristics of RFID sensor systems embedded in concrete N2 - Completely embedded sensor systems for long-term operation offer innovative possibilities for structural health monitoring of concrete structures. Measuring of relevant parameters, e.g., temperature, humidity, or indication of corrosion can be performed with low energy sensors. This allows to implement passive RFID sensor systems without cable connection and battery, which are power supplied exclusively by the electromagnetic field from the external reader device. To evaluate characteristics and conditions of this concept, a systematical investigation of the transmission characteristics with variation of relevant parameters, as communication frequency, installation depth, type of concrete, moisture content, etc. is currently carried out in an interdisciplinary Research project at BAM. First results are presented in this paper. T2 - IEEE Sensors 2016 CY - Orlando, FL, USA DA - 30.10.2016 KW - Embedded sensors KW - Energy harvesting KW - Wireless sensors KW - RFID sensors KW - Transmission characteristics KW - Structural health monitoring PY - 2016 AN - OPUS4-38387 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Stührenberg, Jan A1 - Tandon, Aditya A1 - Dragos, Kosmas A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Smarsly, Kay T1 - Implementation and validation of robot-enabled embedded sensors for structural health monitoring N2 - In the past decades, structural health monitoring (SHM) has matured into a viable supplement to regular inspections, facilitating the execution of repair and maintenance work in the early stages of structural damage. With the advent of wireless technologies and advancements in information and communication technologies, civil infrastructure has been increasingly instrumented with wireless sensor nodes to record, analyze, and communicate data relevant to SHM. A promising method for SHM is to embed sensors directly into concrete for recording SHM data from inside structural elements. In this paper, a sensor system for embedment into concrete is proposed, able to assess SHM data recorded from concrete. Power is supplied to the sensors on-demand by quadruped robots, which also collect the SHM data via radio-frequency identification (RFID), providing an automated and efficient SHM process. In laboratory experiments, the capability of the sensor system of automatically collecting the SHM data using quadruped robots is validated. In summary, the integration of RFID technology and robot-based inspection presented in this study demonstrates a vital approach to evolve current SHM practices towards more digitalized and automated SHM. T2 - 11th European Workshop On Structural Health Monitoring CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 10.06.2024 KW - Structural health monitoring KW - RFID-based sensors KW - Smart sensors KW - Embedded sensors KW - Legged robots KW - Quadruped robots PY - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-60335 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Johann, Sergej A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Smart RFID Sensors Embedded in Building Structures for Early Damage Detection and Long-Term Monitoring N2 - In civil engineering, many structures are made of reinforced concrete. Most Degradation processes relevant to this material, e.g., corrosion, are related to an increased level of material moisture. Therefore, moisture monitoring in reinforced concrete is regarded as a crucial method for structural health monitoring. In this study, passive radio frequency identification (RFID)-based sensors are embedded into the concrete. They are well suited for long-term operation over decades and are well protected against harsh environmental conditions. The energy supply and the data transfer of the humidity sensors are provided by RFID. The sensor casing materials are optimised to withstand the high alkaline environment in concrete, having pH values of more than 12. Membrane materials are also investigated to identify materials capable of enabling water vapour transport from the porous cement matrix to the embedded humidity sensor. By measuring the corresponding relative humidity with embedded passive RFID-based sensors, the cement hydration is monitored for 170 days. Moreover, long-term moisture monitoring is performed for more than 1000 days. The Experiments show that embedded passive RFID-based sensors are highly suitable for long-term structural health monitoring in civil engineering. KW - RFID based sensors KW - Embedded sensors KW - Corresponding relative humidity KW - Porous building materials KW - Reinforced concrete KW - Corrosion KW - Civil engineering PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-500831 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s19245514 VL - 19 IS - 24 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Swiss AN - OPUS4-50083 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -