Review of Radio Frequency Identification and Wireless Technology for Structural Health Monitoring

Radio frequency identification(RFID) combined with wireless technology has good potential for structural health monitoring(SHM). We describe several advantages of RFID and wireless technologies for SHM, and review SHM examples with working principles, design and technical details for damage detection, heat exposure monitoring, force/strain sensing, and corrosion detection in concrete, steel, carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP), and other materials. Various sensors combined with wireless communication are also discussed. These methodologies can be readily developed, implemented, and customized. There are some technical difficulties, but solutions are being addressed. Lastly, a surface acoustic wave-based RFID system is presented, and possible future trends of SHM based on RFID and wireless technology are presented.