High resolution large displacement/crack sensor
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsFarhad Ansari, Seyed Asadollah Bassam
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A structural displacement sensor that includes an arched member having two ends, where each end is attached to a fastening member. In an embodiment of the invention, the fastening members are configured to be attached to a structure. Further, a strain gauge is attached to the arched member, and the strain gauge is operatively connected to a signal processing device. In an embodiment, the arched member and strain gauge are configured to measure a displacement of the structure based on the amount of strain detected on the strain gauge.
Claims23
A structural displacement sensor comprising:
- an arched member having two ends, each end attached to a fastening member, wherein the fastening members are configured to attach to a structure;
- a first strain gauge attached to the arched member, wherein the first strain gauge is operatively connected to a signal processing device;
- and
- wherein the arched member and first strain gauge are configured to measure a displacement of the structure based on the amount of strain detected on the first strain gauge.
A structural displacement measurement system comprising:
- a plurality of structural displacement sensors, each attached to a structure at a different location on the structure, wherein each of the plurality of structural displacement sensors comprises an arched member having two ends, each end attached to a fastening member, and a fiber Bragg grating strain gauge attached to the arched member, wherein each of the fiber Bragg grating strain gauges is operatively coupled to an optical signal processing;
- wherein a displacement distance of the structure can be determined by using the optical signal processing device to measure the difference between the wavelength of an optical signal propagating through the fiber Bragg grating strain gauge after the structural displacement, and the wavelength of the optical signal before the structural displacement.
A method of measuring structural displacement comprising the steps of:
- attaching a structural displacement sensor to a structure, the structural displacement sensor comprising:
- an arched member having two ends, each end attached to a fastening member;
- and
- a first strain gauge attached to the arched member;
- coupling the first strain gauge to a signal processing device;
- measuring the strain placed on the first strain gauge;
- and
- calculating the structural displacement distance based on the strain measurement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.