Analysis of vertical deflection of a simply supported timber beam using VL6180X sensor signal monitoring

In this study, the vertical displacement at the midspan of a beam is monitored using a VL6180X laser distance sensor within an experimental-theoretical framework. The proposed measurement system is simple and well suited for the acquisition of both static and dynamic structural responses. The measured data are recorded as a continuous digital signal and processed in the Arduino environment. The time-domain signals are then exported to MS Excel for further analysis using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and its inverse (iDFT) are implemented in order to validate the measured response in both the time and frequency domains. The comparison between the DFTand FFT-based analyses indicates only negligible differences in the evaluated midspan displacement for the same vertical signal.