SUMMARY Crack occurrence and propagation are among critical factors that affect the performance and lifespan of civil infrastructures such as bridges, pipelines, and so on. As a consequence, numerous crack detection and characterization techniques have been researched and developed in the past decades in the areas of SHM and non‐destructive evaluation (NDE). The significant amount of performed studies and the large number of publications give rise to the need to systematize, condensate, and summarize this enormous effort. The aims of this paper are to summarize the knowledge about cracking and its sources, review both existing and emerging methods for crack detection and characterization, and identify the advantages and challenges for these methods. In general, this paper identifies two sensing approaches (direct and indirect) and two data analysis approaches (model‐based and model‐free or data‐driven) along with a range of associated technologies. The advantages and challenges of each approach and technology are discussed and summarized, and the future research needs are identified. This paper is intended to serve as a reference for researchers who are interested in crack detection and characterization as well as for those who are generally interested in SHM and NDE. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Increasing concerns regarding the conditions of civil structures and infrastructure give rise to the need for efficient strategies to identify and repair structural anomalies. 'Sensing sheets' based on large-area electronics consist of a dense array of unit strain sensors. These are an effective and affordable structural health monitoring tool that can identify and continuously monitor the growth of cracks in structures. This paper presents a study on the quantitative relationship between crack width and strain, the latter measured by an individual sensor that would be part of a sensing sheet. We investigate the sensitivity of thin-film full-bridge strain sensors to concrete cracks by conducting laboratory experiments in temperature-controlled settings. The results show a distribution of near-linear relationships with an average sensitivity of 31 με μm −1 . Experiments were also conducted to investigate the effect of crack position and orientation with respect to the sensor, and it appears that both variables affect the sensitivity of strain sensors to cracks. Overall, this study confirms that full-bridge resistive strain sensors can successfully detect and quantify cracks in structural materials and are therefore appropriate as part of a dense array of sensors on a sensing sheet.

Sensing sheets based on large-area electronics consist of a dense array of unit strain sensors. This new technology has potential for becoming an effective and affordable monitoring tool that can identify, localize and quantify surface damage in structures. This research contributes to their development by investigating the response of full-bridge unit strain sensors to thermal variations. Overall, this investigation quantifies the effects of temperature on thin-film full-bridge strain sensors monitoring uncracked and cracked concrete. Additionally, an empirical formula is developed to estimate crack width given an observed strain change and a measured temperature change. This research led to the understanding of the behavior of full-bridge strain sensors installed on cracked concrete and exposed to temperature variations. It proves the concept of the sensing sheet and its suitability for application in environments with variable temperature.

A sensing sheet based on large-area electronics consists of a dense array of discrete short-gauge sensor units, integrated circuits for collecting, analyzing and communicating data, and a flexible photovoltaic system that serves as both a power harvester and a protective layer. We investigated the sensitivity of thin-film full-bridge strain sensors to cracks, and the effect of crack position with respect to the sensor. In general, the results of this research show that full-bridge strain sensors can successfully detect and characterize cracks in structural materials and are therefore good candidates to utilize in a sensing sheet.