Dr. Paul H. Ziehl Profile

Dr. Paul H. Ziehl

at Univ of South Carolina

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (24)

Proceedings Article | 9 May 2024 Presentation + Paper

Performance evaluation of flexible capacitive sensors on non-uniform surfaces

Emmanuel Ogunniyi, Han Liu, John White, Austin R. Downey, Simon Laflamme, Jian Li, Caroline Bennett, William Collins, Hongki Jo, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 12949, 1294916 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3010959

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Surface finishing, Signal to noise ratio, Transducers, Capacitors, Structural health monitoring, Structural monitoring, Capacitance

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The use of strain gauges is foundational to structural health monitoring, allowing infrastructure to continuously observe strain, infer stress, and potentially detect fatigue/fracture cracks. However, traditional strain gauges have drawbacks. In addition to being costly, a single-element strain gauge will only detect strain in a single direction and must be mounted on smooth surfaces to ensure good adhesion. Soft Elastomeric Capacitors (SECs) have been proposed as a low-cost alternative to traditional strain gauges while allowing for a broader range of applications. They are flexible and can be modeled with different dimensions based on the monitored structure. Each SEC consists of three layers; the two outer layers act as electrodes and are made of a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene polymer in a matrix with carbon black. The inner (dielectric) layer comprises titanium oxide in a matrix with SEBS. The use of the SECs is not limited by the geometry of the surface being monitored, and it can, therefore, be adhered to a variety of surfaces as its flexibility allows it to conform to the irregularity and complexity of the monitored structure. The change experienced by a structure will correlate directly to the change in capacitance observed across the sensor, which can be used to predict the monitored structure’s state. While SECs have been studied for applications on various materials, experiments have been limited to adhering the sensor to smooth surfaces. However, concrete structures have various surface finishes that are not uniform, often deriving from an architect’s aesthetic desire. This work tests a corrugated SEC through compression tests on concrete samples with different surface finishing to investigate the effect of surface finishing on the SEC-measured strain. Each concrete sample is subjected to loading by a dynamic testing system, and the data collected from the SEC are compared to off-the-shelf resistive strain gauges. The results show that the performance of the cSEC on the different surfaces is not hindered by different concrete finishes, where a high signal-to-noise ratio of 21 dB and low mean absolute error of 22 μϵ is seen on the concrete specimen with a rough concrete surface. The strain metrics and surface effect on SEC performance are discussed.

Proceedings Article | 18 April 2023 Paper

Soft elastomeric capacitors with an extended polymer matrix for strain sensing on concrete

Emmanuel Ogunniyi, Han Liu, Austin R. Downey, Simon Laflamme, Jian Li, Caroline Bennett, William Collins, Hongki Jo, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 12486, 1248618 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2658568

KEYWORDS: Capacitance, Sensors, Capacitors, Polymers, Digital image correlation, Transducers, Electrodes, Dielectrics, Structural sensing, Structural health monitoring, Strain analysis

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Surface strain sensors, such as linear variable differential transformers, fiber Bragg gratings, and resistive strain gauges, have seen significant use for monitoring concrete infrastructure. However, spatial monitoring of concrete structures using these sensor systems is limited by challenges in the surface coverage provided by a specific sensor or issues related to mounting and maintaining numerous mechanical sensors on the structure. A potential solution to this challenge is the deployment of large-area electronics in the form of a sensing skin to provide complete coverage of a monitored area while being simple to apply and maintain. Along this line of effort, networks constituted of soft elastomeric capacitors have been deployed to monitor strain on steel and composite structures. However, using soft elastomeric capacitors on concrete surfaces has been challenging due to the electrical coupling between the sensors and concrete, which amplifies transduced strain signals obtained from the soft elastomeric capacitors. In this work, the authors investigate the isolation of the soft elastomeric capacitors from the concrete by extending the styrene-block-ethylene-co-butylene-block-styrene matrix of the soft elastomeric capacitors to include a decoupling layer between the electrode and the concrete. Experimental investigations are carried out on concrete specimens for which the soft elastomeric capacitor is adhered to with a thin layer of off-the-shelf epoxy and then loaded on the dynamic testing system to monitor strain provoked on the concrete samples. The results presented here demonstrate the viability of the electrically isolated soft elastomeric capacitors for monitoring strain on concrete structures. Initial comparisons between un-isolated and electrically isolated soft elastomeric capacitors showed that the nominal capacitance of the soft elastomeric capacitor is significantly lowered by adding an isolation layer of SEBS. Furthermore, strain results for the soft elastomeric capacitors are compared to ones from a resistive strain gauge and digital image correlation. The data obtained is significant for modifying soft elastomeric capacitors with the anticipation for future use on concrete structures.

Proceedings Article | 22 March 2021 Presentation + Paper

Monitoring impact damage in composites with large area sensing skins

Alexander Vereen, Austin Downey, Subramani Sockalingham, Paul Ziehl, Simon LaFlamme, Jian Li, Hongki Jo

Proceedings Volume 11591, 115911Q (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2582572

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Capacitors, Skin, Composites, Glasses, Capacitance, Sensor networks, Nondestructive evaluation, Inspection, Head

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The effect of low energy impacts can seriously impair the operational life span of composites in the field. These low-energy impacts can induce a permanent loss in the toughness of the composite without any visible indication of the material’s compromise. The detection of this damage utilizing nondestructive inspection requires dense measurements over much of the surface and has been traditionally achieved by removing the part from service for advanced imaging techniques. While these methods can accurately diagnose the damage inflicted internally by the impacts, they accrue non-trivial opportunity costs while the structure is inspected. To enable the capabilities of in-service monitoring of the composite, the novel soft elastomeric capacitor was investigated as a sensing solution. The sensor is made of three layers comprised of a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) matrix, a commercially available elastomer. These layers consist of a titania filled center layer that forms the dielectric of the capacitor and two highly conductive outer layers doped with carbon black. This simple formation allows for a capacitor that has extremely robust mechanical properties. The soft elastomeric capacitor functions by taking up deformations on the surface of the composite that is transduced into a measurable change in capacitance. This study provides an electro-mechanical model for impact damage and experimentally investigates the efficacy of these sensors for use in damage detection given their promising characteristics; that being that the sensor geometry can be arbitrarily large allowing for much fewer sensors than traditional sensor networks employed for this task at a much lower cost than installing traditional in-situ sensing solutions. To investigate these properties a set of impact trials were undertaken on a drop tower using small samples of glass fiber reinforced plate, of random orient and short fiber, with a soft elastomeric capacitor mounted directly opposite the impact site. The impactor head was only allowed one contact with the sample before being intercepted. The testing range for the samples ranged from well below the yield strength of the glass fiber reinforced plate to the ultimate strength of the plate. Experimental results reported a square root relation between the impact energy given to the plate when inducing plastic deformations and the sensor’s measured change in capacitance.

Proceedings Article | 18 May 2020 Paper

Acoustic emission damage evaluation of rolling element bearings for shipboard machinery

Brenna Feirer, Paul Ziehl, Rafal Anay, Mahmoud Bayat, Bin Zhang, Eugene Golda

Proceedings Volume 11380, 113801P (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2563819

KEYWORDS: Acoustic emission, Sensors, Continuous wavelet transforms, Analytical research, Failure analysis, Pattern recognition, Data acquisition

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Proceedings Article | 19 April 2013 Paper

A dual mode imaging array for damage detection in grout structures

Zhenhua Tian, Lingyu Yu, Mohamed EL-Batanouny, Paul Ziehl, Liuxian Zhao

Proceedings Volume 8692, 86920D (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2009751

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Imaging arrays, Ferroelectric materials, Active remote sensing, Ultrasonics, Semiconducting wafers, Damage detection, Wave propagation, Receivers, Scattering

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Proceedings Article | 16 April 2013 Paper

Acoustic emission monitoring and fatigue prediction of steel bridge components

Jianguo Yu, Paul Ziehl, Juan Caicedo, Fabio Matta

Proceedings Volume 8694, 86940X (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2012030

KEYWORDS: Bridges, Acoustic emission, Pattern recognition, Sensors, Electronic filtering, Sensor networks, Data storage, Nondestructive evaluation, Interference (communication), Signal detection

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Proceedings Article | 11 April 2013 Paper

Early corrosion monitoring of prestressed concrete piles using acoustic emission

William Vélez, Fabio Matta, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 8694, 869407 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2010005

KEYWORDS: Corrosion, Polarization, Resistance, Acoustic emission, Bridges, Scanning electron microscopy, Sensors, Electrodes, Photomicroscopy, Optical inspection

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Proceedings Article | 11 April 2013 Paper

In-situ health monitoring on steel bridges with dual mode piezoelectric sensors

Lingyu Yu, H. Felix Wu, Victor Giurgiutiu, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 8694, 869418 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2009746

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Bridges, Active remote sensing, Transducers, Inspection, Wave propagation, Signal detection, Signal to noise ratio, Acoustic emission, Aluminum

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Proceedings Article | 2 May 2012 Paper

Status in the development of self-powered wireless sensor node for structural health monitoring and prognosis

Valery Godinez-Azcuaga, Justin Farmer, Paul Ziehl, Victor Giurgiutiu, Antonio Nanni, Daniel Inman

Proceedings Volume 8347, 83471V (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.917522

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Energy harvesting, Bridges, Corrosion, Structural health monitoring, Acoustic emission, Wind energy, Prototyping, Data modeling, Composites

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Proceedings Article | 6 April 2012 Paper

Characterization of corrosion damage in prestressed concrete using acoustic emission

Jesé Mangual, Mohamed ElBatanouny, William Vélez, Paul Ziehl, Fabio Matta, Miguel González

Proceedings Volume 8345, 834543 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915390

KEYWORDS: Corrosion, Sensors, Acoustic emission, Polarization, Bridges, Optical inspection, Oxides, Resistance, Electrodes, Transducers

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Proceedings Article | 5 April 2012 Paper

Comparative study of active and passive sensing with AE and PWAS transducers

Lingyu Yu, Victor Giurgiutiu, Jianguo Yu, Paul Ziehl, Liuxian Zhao

Proceedings Volume 8347, 834720 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915670

KEYWORDS: Transducers, Sensors, Bridges, Active remote sensing, Wave propagation, Passive remote sensing, Semiconducting wafers, Active sensors, Signal to noise ratio, Signal detection

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Proceedings Article | 5 April 2012 Paper

Signal identification in acoustic emission monitoring of fatigue cracking in steel bridges

Jianguo Yu, Paul Ziehl, Adrian Pollock

Proceedings Volume 8347, 83471Z (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915420

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Bridges, Electronic filtering, Acoustic emission, Interference (communication), Data acquisition, Data transmission, Metals, Sensing systems, Damage detection

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Proceedings Article | 5 April 2012 Paper

Monitoring corrosion in prestressed concrete beams using acoustic emission technique

Mohamed ElBatanouny, Jesé Mangual, William Vélez, Paul Ziehl, Fabio Matta, Miguel González

Proceedings Volume 8347, 834718 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915371

KEYWORDS: Corrosion, Acoustic emission, Fourier transforms, Polarization, Resistance, Electrodes, Copper, Chromium, Sensors, Interfaces

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Proceedings Article | 28 March 2012 Paper

Uncertainty quantification of acoustic emission filtering techniques

Boris Zárate, Juan Caicedo, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 8341, 83410L (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.915415

KEYWORDS: Acoustic emission, Electronic filtering, Mechanics, Sensors, Data modeling, Transducers, Data acquisition, Linear filtering, Monte Carlo methods, Digital filtering

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Proceedings Article | 20 April 2011 Paper

Recent advances in the development of a self-powered wireless sensor network for structural health prognosis

Valery Godinez-Azcuaga, Daniel Inman, Paul Ziehl, Victor Giurgiutiu, Antonio Nanni

Proceedings Volume 7983, 798325 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880249

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Bridges, Corrosion, Wind energy, Acoustic emission, Prototyping, Data modeling, Signal detection, Sensor networks, Energy harvesting

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Proceedings Article | 20 April 2011 Paper

Remote monitoring and prognosis of fatigue cracking in steel bridges with acoustic emission

Jianguo Peter Yu, Paul Ziehl, Adrian Pollock

Proceedings Volume 7983, 79832H (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880197

KEYWORDS: Bridges, Sensors, Acoustic emission, Electronic filtering, Pattern recognition, Filtering (signal processing), Structural health monitoring, Wave propagation, Nondestructive evaluation, Sensing systems

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Proceedings Article | 20 April 2011 Paper

Detection of active corrosion in reinforced and prestressed concrete: overview of NIST TIP project

M. Gonzalez-Nunez, A. Nanni, F. Matta, P. Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 7983, 79832I (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880416

KEYWORDS: Corrosion, Sensors, Nondestructive evaluation, Acoustic emission, Polarization, Electrodes, Resistance, Bridges, Ions, Environmental sensing

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Proceedings Article | 20 April 2011 Paper

Model updating and prognosis of acoustic emission data in compact test specimens under cyclic loading

Boris Zárate, Juan Caicedo, Jianguo Yu, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 7983, 79831Y (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880603

KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Acoustic emission, Nondestructive evaluation, Composites, Aerospace engineering, Homeland security, Current controlled current source, Bayesian inference, Monte Carlo methods

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Proceedings Article | 18 April 2011 Paper

Damage detection in prestressed pile to bent cap connections

Aaron Larosche, Jese Mangual, Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 7981, 798159 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880465

KEYWORDS: Bridges, Sensors, Acoustic emission, Visualization, Actuators, Structural health monitoring, Damage detection, Earthquakes, Data acquisition, Seismic sensors

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Proceedings Article | 14 April 2011 Paper

Assessment of corrosion rate in prestressed concrete with acoustic emission

Jesé Mangual, Mohamed ElBatanouny, William Vélez, Paul Ziehl, Fabio Matta, Miguel González

Proceedings Volume 7981, 79811K (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880169

KEYWORDS: Corrosion, Acoustic emission, Sensors, Electrodes, Copper, Signal attenuation, Polarization, Resistance, Signal processing, Iron

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Proceedings Article | 9 April 2010 Paper

Quantification of fatigue cracking in CT specimens with passive and active piezoelectric sensing

Jianguo Yu, Paul Ziehl, Boris Zarate, Juan Caicedo, Lingyu Yu, Victor Giurgiutiu, Brian Metrovich, Fabio Matta

Proceedings Volume 7649, 76490R (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847945

KEYWORDS: Acoustic emission, Data modeling, Active remote sensing, Bridges, Transducers, Sensors, Lead, Signal to noise ratio, Genetic algorithms, Signal detection

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Proceedings Article | 1 April 2010 Paper

Steel bridge fatigue crack detection with piezoelectric wafer active sensors

Lingyu Yu, Victor Giurgiutiu, Paul Ziehl, Didem Ozevin, Patrick Pollock

Proceedings Volume 7647, 76471Y (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847603

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Acoustic emission, Bridges, Active remote sensing, Signal detection, Semiconducting wafers, Transducers, Active sensors, Imaging arrays, Wave plates

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Proceedings Article | 8 April 2009 Paper

Piezoelectric based sensing in wireless steel bridge health monitoring

Lingyu Yu, Victor Giurgiutiu, Paul Ziehl, Didem Ozevin

Proceedings Volume 7294, 72941D (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.830128

KEYWORDS: Bridges, Sensors, Signal detection, Active remote sensing, Sensing systems, Damage detection, Inspection, Acoustic emission, Telecommunications, Semiconducting wafers

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Proceedings Article | 8 April 2008 Paper

Applications of acoustic emission evaluation for civil infrastructure

Paul Ziehl

Proceedings Volume 6934, 69340I (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.779069

KEYWORDS: Bridges, Fiber reinforced polymers, Acoustic emission, Nondestructive evaluation, Sensors, Buildings, Corrosion, Photography, Polymers, Civil engineering

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Showing 5 of 24 publications

Conference Committee Involvement (5)

Nondestructive Characterization and Monitoring of Advanced Materials, Aerospace, and Civil Infrastructure X

21 March 2016 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Structural Health Monitoring and Inspection of Advanced Materials, Aerospace, and Civil Infrastructure IX

9 March 2015 | San Diego, California, United States

Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security VIII

10 March 2014 | San Diego, California, United States

Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security VII

10 March 2013 | San Diego, California, United States

Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security VI

12 March 2012 | San Diego, California, United States

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