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Large-Scale Capacitance Sensor For Health Monitoring Of Civil Structures, Simon Laflamme, Matthias Kollosche, Jerome J. Connor, Guggi Kofod

Simon Laflamme

In this paper, a new type of sensing technique for damage localization on large civil structures is proposed. Specifically, changes in strain are detected using a capacitance sensor built with a soft-stretchable dielectric polymer with attached stretchable metal film electrodes. This sensor is sensitive to a change in strain that causes a change in its capacitance. Fixed to a structure, small changes in the strain can be monitored directly by measuring the change in the capacitance of the unit. This technology allows for simple yet highly accurate measurements of cracks occurring due to deformation, aging, or other structural failures. The …