This volume includes a comprehensive theoretical treatment and current state-of-the art applications of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). It discusses interface circuits and the study of viscoelasticity and micromechanics as well as surface roughness with the QCM. Coverage also details the broad field of analytical applications of piezoelectric sensors.

This book introduces physical effects and fundamentals of piezoelectric sensors and actuators. It gives a comprehensive overview of piezoelectric materials such as quartz crystals and polycrystalline ceramic materials. Different modeling approaches and methods to precisely predict the behavior of piezoelectric devices are described. Furthermore, a simulation-based approach is detailed which enables the reliable characterization of sensor and actuator materials. One focus of the book lies on piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers. An optical approach is presented that allows the quantitative determination of the resulting sound fields. The book also deals with various applications of piezoelectric sensors and actuators. In particular, the studied application areas are · process measurement technology, · ultrasonic imaging, · piezoelectric positioning systems and · piezoelectric motors. The book addresses students, academic as well as industrial reseachers and development engineers who are concerned with piezoelectric sensors and actuators.

This guide to the current state of the art of this complex and multidisciplinary area fills an urgent need for a unified source of information on piezoelectric devices and their astounding variety of existing and emerging applications.

The Handbook of Chemical and Biological Sensors focuses on the development of sensors to recognize substances rather than physical quantities. This fully inclusive book examines devices that use a biological sensing element to detect and measure chemical and biological species as well as those that use a synthetic element to achieve a similar result. A first port of call for anyone with a specific interest, question, or problem relating to this area, this comprehensive source of reference serves as a guide for practicing scientists and as a text for many graduate courses. It presents relevant physics to chemists, chemistry to materials scientists, materials science to electronic engineers, and fabrication technology to all of the above. In addition, the handbook is useful both to newcomers and to experienced researchers who wish to broaden their knowledge of the constituent disciplines of this wide-ranging field.

This edited work covers piezoelectric materials in the form of beams, plates, shells, and other structural components in modern devices and structures. Applications are frequency control and detection functions in resonators, sensors, actuators, oscillations, and other smart and intelligent structures. The products and technology are with us in our daily life through computers and communication devices. The contributions cover novel methods for the analysis of piezoelectric structures including wave propagation, high frequency vibration, material characterization, and optimization of structures. Understanding of these methods is increasingly important in the design and modelling of next generation devices and micro-structures with piezoelectric elements and effects.

The condition assessment of aged structures is becoming a more and more important issue for civil infrastructure management systems. The continued use of existing systems is, due to environmental, economical and socio-political assets, of great significance and is growing larger every year. Thus the extent of necessary repair of damaged reinforced concrete structures is of major concern in most countries today. Monitoring techniques may have a decisive input to limit expenditures for maintenance and repair of existing structures. Modern test and measurement methods as well as computational mechanics open the door for a wide variety of monitoring applications. The need for quantitative and qualitative knowledge has led to the development and improvement of surveillance techniques, which have already found successful application in other disciplines such as medicine, physics and chemistry. The design of experimental test and measurement systems is inherently an interdisciplinary activity. The specification of the instrumentation to measure the structural response will involve the skills of civil, electrical and computer engineers. The main aim of fib Commission 5, Structural servicer life aspects, is to provide a rational procedure to obtain an optimal technical-economic performance of concrete structures in service and to ensure a feedback of experience gained to design, execution, maintenance and rehabilitation. Against this background fib Task Group 5.1 Monitoring and Safety Evaluation of Existing Concrete Structures had been established to evaluate the existing practice worldwide. The objective of this state-of-art report is to summarize the most important inspection and measuring methods, to describe the working process and to evaluate the applicability to structural monitoring. Particular emphasis is placed upon non-destructive systems, lifetime monitoring, data evaluation and safety aspects.

The two volumes of Handbook of Gas Sensor Materials provide a detailed and comprehensive account of materials for gas sensors, including the properties and relative advantages of various materials. Since these sensors can be applied for the automation of myriad industrial processes, as well as for everyday monitoring of such activities as public safety, engine performance, medical therapeutics, and in many other situations, this handbook is of great value. Gas sensor designers will find a treasure trove of material in these two books.

Future robots are expected to work closely and interact safely with real-world objects and humans alike. Sense of touch is important in this context, as it helps estimate properties such as shape, texture, hardness, material type and many more; provides action related information, such as slip detection; and helps carrying out actions such as rolling an object between fingers without dropping it. This book presents an in-depth description of the solutions available for gathering tactile data, obtaining aforementioned tactile information from the data and effectively using the same in various robotic tasks. The efforts during last four decades or so have yielded a wide spectrum of tactile sensing technologies and engineered solutions for both intrinsic and extrinsic touch sensors. Nowadays, new materials and structures are being explored for obtaining robotic skin with physical features like bendable, conformable, and stretchable. Such features are important for covering various body parts of robots or 3D surfaces. Nonetheless, there exist many more hardware, software and application related issues that must be considered to make tactile sensing an effective component of future robotic platforms. This book presents an in-depth analysis of various system related issues and presents the trade-offs one may face while developing an effective tactile sensing system. For this purpose, human touch sensing has also been explored. The design hints coming out of the investigations into human sense of touch can be useful in improving the effectiveness of tactile sensory modality in robotics and other machines. Better integration of tactile sensors on a robot’s body is prerequisite for the effective utilization of tactile data. The concept of semiconductor devices based sensors is an interesting one, as it allows compact and fast tactile sensing systems with capabilities such as human-like spatio-temporal resolution. This book presents a comprehensive description of semiconductor devices based tactile sensing. In particular, novel Piezo Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (POSFET) based approach for high resolution tactile sensing has been discussed in detail. Finally, the extension of semiconductors devices based sensors concept to large and flexile areas has been discussed for obtaining robotic or electronic skin. With its multidisciplinary scope, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers coming from diverse areas such robotics (bio-robots, humanoids, rehabilitation etc.), applied materials, humans touch sensing, electronics, microsystems, and instrumentation. To better explain the concepts the text is supported by large number of figures.