An electromagnetic sensing system incorporating multiple probes and single antenna for wireless structural health monitoring

In this study, a wireless and passive displacement/strain sensing system is proposed for structural health monitoring (SHM). The wireless and passive interrogation of the sensing unit [a variant of a nested split-ring resonator (NSRR)] is achieved through the near-field interaction and electromagnetic coupling between the single antenna in the system and the multiple sensors called the NSRR probes. It is demonstrated that the system can acquire data from more than one NSRR probe simultaneously in a real-life scenario, where the probes are confined within concrete inside a beam, while the antenna monitors them from outside.