Date of Award

8-2001

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Koorosh Naghshineh

Second Advisor

Dr. Marcellin Zahui

Third Advisor

Dr. Philip Guichelaar

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Currently, the methods used for sensing the volume displacement of a vibrating structure entail the use of a polyvinylidene fluoride sensor that spans the entire length of the structure. However, this work shows that the surface behavior related to volume displacement can be measured through the use of a polyvinylidene fluoride sensor that spans only the area of interest. In this application it was shown that two-point sensors are required in addition to the distributed, polyvinylidene fluoride sensor to achieve an accurate measurement. As a result, a set of four beams with different end conditions were constructed so that the localized sensors developed could be examined. In designing the localized surface sensors, the polyvinylidene fluoride surface sensor shape was developed, the sensor shapes necessary to measure a localized area of interest were determined, the sensors were constructed, and subsequently, they were tested using a test fixture constructed for this specific purpose. Finally, a comparison between the theoretical and actual measured values was completed so as to determine the accuracy of these sensors. From the comparison it was discovered that the localized sensors developed were sufficiently accurate for sensing the volume displacement of the vibrating beam with minor variations.

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