Project

Crack monitoring of metal structures via electro-mechanical impedance technology (SIGOROUS)

Acronym
SIGOUROS
Code
F2022/IOF-StarTT/051
Duration
01 September 2022 → 31 August 2024
Funding
Regional and community funding: Industrial Research Fund
Research disciplines
  • Engineering and technology
    • Structural engineering
    • Signal processing
    • Numerical modelling and design
    • Destructive and non-destructive testing of materials
    • Metals and alloy materials
Keywords
cracks Structural health monitoring Damage characterization metal structures
 
Project description

Motivated by the increased need for robust and reliable technologies that enable crack monitoring in large metal infrastructures, this project aims to develop a unique crack monitoring technique based on electro-mechanical impedance measurements.  The solution is superior to available techniques, as it features 4 main advantages: it is an active measurement technique, the employed sensors and data acquisition system are low-cost, it is applicable to complex infrastructure geometries, and the sensors can be positioned far from the crack.

Via lab-scale experiments that allow accelerated crack growth under different operational/environmental conditions, combined with data processing compensating for these conditions, a technical PoC will be realized. This will be matured to an industrial PoC via demonstrator monitoring campaigns at industrial assets. Our ambition is a strong technology offer to industrial partners exploiting large metal infrastructures that are prone to crack formation.