An improved encapsulation method of a sensing element for a cement-based piezoelectric sensor used in civil engineering structure was developed and some tests were carried out for validating this method. The cement-based piezoelectric sensor of this kind is mainly used in concrete structure due to its compatibility with concrete, and the encapsulation method of its sensing element is important to the effectiveness and accuracy of the transfer of the stress from concrete to the sensing element. The sensor′s measurement error of the previous encapsulation method, which was induced by the area of the encapsulation material and the inherent difference of Young′s modulus between cement and encapsulation material, was analyzed theoretically using parallel model. In the improved method, the error is minimized by decreasing the area of the encapsulation material and changing the configuration of the cement and piezoelectric material in the sensor. Two sensors made by the previous and improved methods were embedded in two prisms respectively and the prisms were compressed on Material Test System. Through the comparison of the measurement errors of the two sensors, the improved method was evaluated. The test results show that the improved encapsulation method is effective and feasible.
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