We describe a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method based on the propagation of highly nonlinear solitary waves (HNSWs) to determine the excess of water on the surface of existing concrete structures. HNSWs are induced in a one-dimensional granular chain placed in contact with the concrete to be tested. The chain is part of a built-in transducer designed and assembled to exploit the dynamic interaction between the particles and the concrete. The hypothesis is that the interaction depends on the stiffness of the concrete and influences the time-of-flight of the solitary pulse reflected at the transducer/concrete interface. Two sets of experiments were conducted. In the first set, eighteen concrete cylinders with different water-to-cement (w/c) ratios were cast and tested in order to obtain baseline data to link the ratio to the time of flight. Then, sixteen short beams with fixed w/c ratio, but subject to water in excess at one surface, were cast. The novel NDE method was applied along with the conventional ultrasonic pulse velocity technique in order to determine advantages and limitations of the proposed approach. The results show that the time of flight detected the excess of water in the beams. In the future, the proposed method may be employed in the field to evaluate rapidly and reliably the condition of existing concrete structures and, in particular, concrete decks.

In the study presented in this article we investigated the feasibility and the reliability of a transducer design for the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of the stiffness of structural materials. The NDE method is based on the propagation of highly nonlinear solitary waves (HNSWs) along a one-dimensional chain of spherical particles that is in contact with the material to be assessed. The chain is part of a built-in system designed and assembled to excite and detect HNSWs, and to exploit the dynamic interaction between the particles and the material to be inspected. This interaction influences the time-of-flight and the amplitude of the solitary pulses reflected at the transducer/material interface. The results of this study show that certain features of the waves are dependent on the modulus of elasticity of the material and that the built-in system is reliable. In the future the proposed NDE method may provide a cost-effective tool for the rapid assessment of materials’ modulus.

Tactile sensing is paramount for robots operating in human-centered environments to help in understanding interaction with objects. To enable robots to have sophisticated tactile sensing capability, researchers have developed different kinds of electronic skins for robotic hands and arms in order to realize the ‘sense of touch’. Recently, Stanford Structures and Composites Laboratory developed a robotic electronic skin based on a network of multi-modal micro-sensors. This skin was able to identify temperature profiles and detect arm strikes through embedded sensors. However, sensing for the static pressure load is yet to be investigated. In this work, an electromechanical impedance-based method is proposed to investigate the response of piezoelectric sensors under static normal pressure loads. The smart skin sample was firstly fabricated by embedding a piezoelectric sensor into the soft silicone. Then, a series of static pressure tests to the skin were conducted. Test results showed that the first peak of the real part impedance signal was sensitive to static pressure load, and by using the proposed diagnostic method, this test setup could detect a resolution of 0.5 N force. Numerical simulation methods were then performed to validate the experimental results. The results of the numerical simulation prove the validity of the experiments, as well as the robustness of the proposed method in detecting static pressure loads using the smart skin.

This article presents a numerical formulation and the experimental validation of the dynamic interaction between highly nonlinear solitary waves generated along a mono-periodic array of spherical particles and rails in a point contact with the array. A general finite element model of rails was developed and coupled to a discrete particle model able to predict the propagation of the solitary waves along a L-shaped array located perpendicular and in contact with the web of the rail. The models were validated experimentally by testing a 0.9-m long and a 2.4-m long rail segments subjected to compressive load. The scope of the study was the development of a new nondestructive evaluation technique able to estimate the stress in continuous welded rails and eventually to infer the temperature at which the longitudinal stress in the rail is zero. The numerical findings presented in this article demonstrate that certain features, such as the amplitude and time of flight, of the solitary waves are affected by the axial stress. The experimental results validated the numerical predictions and warrant the validation of the nondestructive evaluation system against real rails.

In this paper a new automated approach is presented for optimal design of prestressed concrete slabs. To achieve this goal, the model of a slab is formed using SAP2000, and it is linked to a meta-heuristic code. This code utilizes the result of analyzed models in each iteration to provide new design parameters of the slab for the subsequent one. Canadian Standard Association requirements are met thoroughly to reach a safe code-based design. A recently enhanced version of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), so-called PSOHS, is employed, and it is shown that the latter is superior to the standard PSO. Results prove the efficiency of the PSOHS, indicating the possibility of its application in professional engineering. Furthermore, the comparison of the PSO and PSOHS shows that PSOHS is less parameter sensitive, and provides final designs with smaller cost functions.