Applications of Smart Materials in Structural Health Monitoring

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is an emerging technology devoted to monitoring and assessing of structural health. SHM emerged from the wide field of smart structures and laterally encompasses disciplines such as structural dynamics, materials and structures, non-destructive testing, sensors and actuators, data acquisition, signal processing and possibly much more. To stimulate students’ desire for pursing advanced technologies and prepare them well for their future careers, engineering and technology educators need to dedicate their efforts to educate the students with this emerging technology. At Jackson State University (JSU), three course modules (Smart Materials and Structures, Signals & Data Acquisition Systems, and Lamb Waves Generation & Detection) have been added to the existing courses to help undergraduate students develop hands-on experience for understanding this technology. The course modules do not assume prior knowledge of software and hardware, and they all follow an applied, hands-on approach. These three course modules allow students to gain insight into the SHM as well as to become knowledgeable users of the instrumentation.