Real-time strength development monitoring for concrete structures using wired and wireless electro-mechanical impedance techniques

The demand for the construction of high-rise buildings and wide-span bridges using High Strength Concrete (HSC) has increased. To prevent unexpected collapse during and after the construction of HSC structures, it is essential to confirm the strength development of HSC during the curing process. In this study, a novel method to estimate the strength development of HSC based on Electromechanical Impedance (EMI) measurements using a wireless sensor node is proposed. The EMI of HSC structures with 100 MPa strength was tracked to monitor the strength development. In addition, two types of signal processing, resonant frequency shift and cross-correlation coefficient were applied in sequence to examine the trend of the impedance variations more quantitatively. The results confirmed that the proposed technique can be applied successfully to more reliable and economical monitoring of the strength development during the curing process of HSC structures.