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IOP PUBLISHING SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002 (7pp) doi:10.1088/0964-1726/22/2/025002

Frequency selective surface based passive

wireless sensor for structural health
monitoring
Sang-Dong Jang, Byung-Woo Kang and Jaehwan Kim
Creative Research Center for EAPap Actuator, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University,
Incheon 402-751, Korea

E-mail: jaehwan@inha.ac.kr

Received 5 July 2012, in final form 22 November 2012

Published 21 December 2012
Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/22/025002
Abstract
Wireless sensor networks or ubiquitous sensor networks are a promising technology giving
useful information to people. In particular, the chipless passive wireless sensor is one of the
most important developments in wireless sensor technology because it is compact and does
not need a battery or chip for the sensor operation. So it has many possibilities for use in
various types of sensor system with economical efficiency and robustness in harsh
environmental conditions. This sensor uses an electromagnetic resonance frequency or phase
angle shift associated with a geometrical change of the sensor tag or an impedance change of
the sensor. In this paper, a chipless passive wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor
is made using a frequency selective surface (FSS). The cross type FSS is introduced, and its
SHM principle is explained. The electromagnetic characteristics of the FSS are simulated in
terms of transmission and reflection coefficients using simulation software, and an
experimental verification is conducted. The electromagnetic characteristic change of the FSS
in the presence of mechanical strain or a structural crack is investigated by means of
simulation and experiment. Since large-area structures can be covered by deploying FSS, it is
possible to detect the location of any cracks.
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction or chemical pollution detection sensor network systems.

RF identification (RFID) sensor technology is promising as
an inexpensive and immediately deployable sensor network
in broad areas [1]. RFID sensors can be classified as active,
semi-active and passive types. An active or semi-active
wireless sensor needs a battery, which restricts its size,
operating cost and application area. On the other hand,
passive RFID sensors, which generally consist of an RF
energy harvester, sensing module, logic circuit, memory and
modulator [2], can be battery-free wireless sensor systems
since the RF signal transmitted by the reader supplies
the energy for passive RFID sensor operation [3]. Passive
RFID sensors have the possibility to track temperature
or humidity sensitive products such as pharmaceutical or
medical products. Also, they can be used in biological
However, passive RFID sensors have a limitation because the
electronic components in the sensor are not rugged in harsh
environmental conditions.
Chipless wireless sensors are an alternative method to
overcome these problems. Surface acoustic wave (SAW)
based reflectometry type RFID sensors have been widely
investigated due to their convenience and low cost [4].
However, a SAW sensor also has limitations because of
the temperature effect on its time delay. Another type of
passive wireless sensor is based on the inductive coupling
effect [5, 6]. A coil antenna is connected to the sensing
part of the sensor. As the load impedance of the sensing
part varies with environmental conditions, the resonance
frequency of the inductively coupled system is shifted due to
the electromagnetic impedance change. The typical operating

0964-1726/13/025002+07$33.00 1 c 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK & the USA


Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002
Figure 1. Concept of FSS based wireless structural health monitoring sensor. (a) Strain sensing, (b) structural damage detection.
frequency of the inductively coupled wireless sensor is
13.56 MHz. It is very convenient to fabricate inductively
coupled sensor tags and readers. However, the effectively
measurable distance of the inductively coupled wireless
sensor is very short ( ∼10 cm) and it is impossible to
miniaturize it. The final type of passive wireless sensor is
an antenna or meta-material based sensor using microwave
backscattering [7, 8]. Microwave backscattering has already
been used in various types of radar sensors for air traffic
control, earth observation and body scanners. This microwave
sensor is identified by the frequency domain. In other words,
this sensor is identified by the spectral signature of the
backscattered spectrum [9, 10]. A shift of the backscattering
resonance peak associated with the impedance change of the
sensing part can be digitally encoded with the frequency
spectrum [7, 11, 12].
Wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor
networks are one of the most promising fields for wireless
sensor application. SHM is the process of detecting damage
in aerospace, mechanical, and civil infrastructures [13, 14].
An SHM system can improve the safety and reliability
of structures by autonomously monitoring the conditions
or detecting critical damage. A wireless sensor network
system for SHM has numerous advantages in terms
of better flexibility, software or hardware expandability,
cost effectiveness and fault tolerance [15]. In particular,
chipless passive wireless sensors can give real-time structural
information for SHM without space and battery constraints in
harsh environmental conditions [16–22].
In this paper, chipless passive wireless strain and damage
detection sensors are made by using a frequency selective
surface (FSS). The FSS consists of planar and periodic
metal–dielectric arrays which can control the reflection or
transmission spectral characteristics of microwaves. This is
a kind of meta-material using a electromagnetic band gap
(EBG) structure which is designed to prevent microwave
propagation of an allocated frequency bandwidth [23].
2
S-D Jang et al
The basic concept of this sensor is the electromagnetic
resonance shift in the presence of a geometric change of
the FSS elements [24]. Simulation of the electromagnetic
characteristics of an FSS array was carried with different
strain ratios and structural crack locations of FSS elements. To
verify the simulation results, experimental tests of microwave
backscattering and transmission were performed.
2. Operating principle of FSS based wireless SHM
sensors
An FSS structure is a planar and periodic metal–dielectric
array. A variety of geometries and structures have been
proposed for FSS structures and are used in a various
areas: radomes, multi-frequency reflector antennas and data
communication links [25]. From microwave theory, the
resonance frequency of an FSS is related to its length
(fres ≈ 1/`) or the lumped impedance (fres ≈ 1/2π(LC)1/2 )
of the FSS elements. When the microwaves from the
transmitted signal (Tx) antenna interrogate the FSS, the
re-radiated microwave signal whose frequency matches the
electromagnetic resonance of the FSS is acquired by the
received signal (Rx) antenna. The re-radiated microwave
signal from the FSS is called the backscattering signal, and
consists of the antenna mode and the structural mode [26].
The structural mode is the microwave reflection from the FSS
elements in complex conjugate matching conditions, which is
independent of the load impedance. In contrast, the antenna
mode depends on the load impedance [27]. In the FSS based
SHM sensor, the re-radiated microwaves from the structural
mode dominate those of the antenna mode.
This paper deals with two kinds of wireless SHM sensor
using FSS: a wireless mechanical strain sensor and a crack
detection sensor. Figure 1 explains the concept of wireless
SHM sensors using a cross type FSS. The principle of wireless
mechanical strain sensors and crack detection sensors using
FSS is based on the resonance frequency shift associated
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002
Figure 2. Geometry of the designed frequency selective surface.
with a geometrical shape change of the FSS element. The
resonance frequency is shifted down by the effective length
increase of the FSS element in the presence of a tensile strain
in the structure. Furthermore, when the structure is damaged,
cracks from structural damage can cut the FSS element length
so as to increase its resonance frequency.
3. Sensor design and fabrication
The electromagnetic characteristics of an FSS depend on its
geometrical shape and the distance between elements [8].
Several types of FSS elements are suggested—multi-pole,
loop and solid types. The size of FSS elements is important
in determining the resonance frequency. The maximum
electromagnetic coupling occurs at a half wavelength of the
FSS element (λ/2). Also, the incident wave angle can affect
the electromagnetic characteristics. We can control the target
frequency of an FSS by changing its element size and the
Figure 3. Fabrication process of the FSS array on polyimide film and the fabricated FSS array.
3
S-D Jang et al
distance between FSS elements. The target frequency region
of the current FSS is the X-band. This frequency band is
widely used in high-resolution radar, motion detector, satellite
communication and radio telescope areas. In this paper, the
target frequency of the cross type FSS sensor is 10 GHz.
Figure 2 shows the geometry of the designed FSS sensor.
The designed FSS elements were made on a flexible
polymer film. Figure 3 shows the fabrication procedure and
a photograph of the fabricated FSS sensor. First, a mask
pattern was prepared from the CAD designed patterns for
the FSS. A photoresist (PR) film was coated on a copper
electroplated polyimide film, and a UV light exposed on it
through the mask pattern. After stripping off the PR film
by developing and etching procedures, a FSS pattern on the
copper electroplated polyimide film can be obtained. The
thicknesses of the polyimide and copper films are 20 µm
and 18 µm, respectively. The dielectric constant of polyimide
is 4.3 and the conductivity of copper is 5.8 × 107 S m−1 .
FSS elements were patterned using a conventional lithography
process and etching process.
4. Wireless mechanical strain sensor
4.1. Simulation of mechanical strain sensing
The microwave reflection and transmission characteristics
of the designed FSS were simulated using the microwave
simulation software, HFSSTM . Figure 4 shows the boundary
conditions and parameters for the simulation model. The cross
type FSS is a periodic structure of unit cells. So, the FSS is
located in the middle of an air-box and Floquet ports are used
to truncate the computation domain along the normal direction
from the FSS. Tetrahedral elements are used in the simulation
model and the number of elements is 30 598. The convergence
of the output result is 0.0075. The step size of the simulation is
0.01 GHz. To simulate the tensile strain effect, the unit cell of
the FSS is expanded from 0 to 4% along the in-plane direction
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002 S-D Jang et al

Figure 4. Geometric shape and parameters for the FSS simulation

using HFSSTM .

of the FSS element. S-parameters (S11 and S21 ) are found from
the simulation. S11 is the reflection coefficient and S21 is the
transmission coefficient of the microwaves.
Figures 5(a) and (b) show the simulation results of
reflection and transmission coefficients with different ratios
of tensile strain, respectively. The simulated resonance
frequency of the original FSS sensor is 10.16 GHz, and is
shifted down as the tensile strain increased. The resonance
frequency changes linearly, with a strain sensitivity of
0.07 GHz/strain(%). The transmission coefficient change Figure 5. FSS simulation result: (a) reflection coefficient,
shown in figure 5(b) is very similar to the reflection coefficient (b) transmission coefficient.
change. However, the Q factor of the transmission coefficient
is 338 while that of the reflection coefficient is 16.4. This
means that the transmission coefficient is better for extracting microwave reflection test. Two X-band horn antennas were
tensile strain information. used as the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) antenna, and
connected to a network analyzer (Agilent, N5230A). The
4.2. Mechanical strain sensing test network analyzer measures the S-parameters between the two
antennas. The frequency resolution of the test is 0.0375 GHz
To verify the simulation result, a wireless strain sensing test and the frequency sweep time is 5 ms. Also, an average of
was performed. Figure 6 shows the experimental setup of the 20 values was performed to reduce the random noise. The

Figure 6. Experimental setup for the microwave reflection test.

4
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002 S-D Jang et al

Figure 7. Experimental result of the microwave reflection

coefficient with varying tensile strain.

distance between the horn antennas and the FSS is 50 cm.

The FSS was attached onto polystyrene foam to reduce the
microwave scattering from the bracket material. Figure 7
shows experimental results of the FSS with different tensile
strain ratios (0–4%). From the result, the resonance frequency Figure 8. Geometrical definition of (a) vertical and (b) horizontal
crack.
of the original FSS sensor was found to be 10.52 GHz.
The test result shows good agreement with the simulation,
with a 3% difference. In the tensile strain test, the fixture
did not allow the possibilty of installing a horn antenna
for measuring the transmission coefficient because of space
problems. So, the transmission coefficient change data was not
measured. Similar to the simulation result, the experimental
result shows that the resonance frequency shifts down as the
tensile strain is increased. The strain sensitivity of the test
result is 0.065 GHz/strain(%), which is very close to the
simulation result.

5. Wireless crack detection sensor

5.1. Simulation of crack detection

The FSS based wireless SHM sensor has the possibility

for use in structural damage detection. Thus, a feasibility
study for structural damage detection was performed by
using simulation of the FSS based wireless SHM sensor. The
boundary conditions of the simulation model are exactly the
same as the strain simulation case. To simulate the structural
damage, an arbitrary degree of damage is assumed on the
cross type FSS unit cell. Figure 8 shows the geometry of the
damaged FSS. A vertical crack is located on the x directional
electrode and a horizontal crack is located on the y directional
electrode. The crack position is 3 mm away from from the
central point. Figure 9 shows the reflection and transmission
coefficients of the FSS unit cell in the presence of the crack.
Interestingly, the vertical crack case shows neither a reflection
coefficient nor a transmission coefficient shift. On the other
hand, the horizontal crack case shows a resonance frequency Figure 9. Simulation results of the effects of structural damage:
shift in the reflection and transmission coefficients from 10.16 (a) reflection coefficient, (b) transmission coefficient.
to 10.80 GHz. In the simulation, the direction of the electric

5
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002
Figure 10. Wavelength change of the cross type element due to: (a) vertical crack, (b) horizontal crack.
Figure 11. Experimental results of the changes in the (a) reflection
coefficient and (b) transmission coefficient with different crack
locations.
field vector of the plane wave is the y axis. The cross type
FSS element can be assumed as an half wave dipole. So,
the wavelength of the dipole antenna is strongly related
to the electric field directional dipole length. As shown in
figure 10(a), the vertical crack does not affect the wavelength.
However, as shown in figure 10(b), the horizontal crack
6
S-D Jang et al
reduces the wavelength of the reflected microwaves. Also, a
resonance frequency shift will occur.
5.2. Experiment for crack detection
The simulation results of crack detection were experimentally
verified. A 3 × 3 FSS array was provided and a vertical
crack was made by cutting the electrodes vertically 3 mm
away from the center of the cross type FSS element. A
horizontal crack was made similarly, as shown in figure 8(a).
Figures 11(a) and (b) show the experimental results for
the change in the reflection and transmission coefficients
due to structural damage. The vertical crack did not
change the resonance frequency of the FSS array, while the
horizontal crack shifted the resonance frequency upwards
with a simultaneous decrease in amplitude. This resonance
frequency shift associated with damage is very similar to the
simulation results shown in figure 9. From the experimental
test, it is clear that the FSS chipless passive sensor can detect
strain as well as cracks. More research on damage location
detection is necessary.
6. Conclusion
A passive wireless sensor for structural health monitoring
was proposed using an X-band frequency selective surface,
and its possibility for strain sensing and crack detection
was demonstrated. From the simulation and experimental
tests, it was observed that the resonance frequencies of
reflection and transmission coefficients were changed by
tensile strain and structural damage. This FSS sensor is very
simple, cost effective, bio-implantable and able to operate in
harsh environmental conditions. Since it can cover large-area
structures by integrating chipless identification technology, it
can detect the location of the structural damage.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by NRF/MEST, Republic of Korea.
Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 025002
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