Mechanism Analysis of Smart Film for Crack Monitoring of Concrete Bridges

In the field of structural health monitoring of concrete bridges, one of the most important problems is the crack identification. In previous studies, sensitive skin for bionic crack monitoring of concrete bridges had been used to monitor the crack initiation and development in a concrete structure, and it was visualized by computer. But there are several problems that prevented this method from being widely applied. In this paper, smart film is proposed for crack monitoring of large scale concrete structures. To monitor the crack of concrete bridge by smart film, the mechanical and electrical mechanism of smart film were analyzed separately based on fracture mechanics and a LED (light emitting diode) circuit designed. The results showed that smart film can monitor the crack initiation and development in concrete bridges effectively.