Embedded piezoelectric ceramic transducers in sandwiched beams

Surface bonded piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) transducers are currently the most prominent area of research in structural health monitoring using electromechanical impedance methods. This paper presents a new embedded PZT patch and its interaction with the host sandwiched beam. Durability and protection from surface finish, vandalism and the environment are important features of the embedment. The paper also demonstrates the use of thickness vibration of the PZT patch in electromechanical admittance formulations. This embedded PZT–structure interaction model is based on the new concept of 'average sum impedance'. The formulations used for this model can be conveniently employed to extract the mechanical impedance of any 'unknown' PZT patch embeddable plane structure. The mechanical impedance of the structure is obtained from the admittance signatures of the embedded PZT patch. The proposed model is experimentally verified on sandwiched beams.