A Spray-On Carbon Nanotube Artificial Neuron Strain Sensor for Composite Structural Health Monitoring

We present a nanocomposite strain sensor (NCSS) to develop a novel structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor that can be easily installed in a composite structure. An NCSS made of a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/epoxy composite was installed on a target structure with facile processing. We a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gyeongrak Choi, Jong Won Lee, Ju Young Cha, Young-Ju Kim, Yeon-Sun Choi, Mark J. Schulz, Chang Kwon Moon, Kwon Tack Lim, Sung Yong Kim, Inpil Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2016-07-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/8/1171
Description
Summary:We present a nanocomposite strain sensor (NCSS) to develop a novel structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor that can be easily installed in a composite structure. An NCSS made of a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/epoxy composite was installed on a target structure with facile processing. We attempted to evaluate the NCSS sensing characteristics and benchmark compared to those of a conventional foil strain gauge. The response of the NCSS was fairly good and the result was nearly identical to the strain gauge. A neuron, which is a biomimetic long continuous NCSS, was also developed, and its vibration response was investigated for structural damage detection of a composite cantilever. The vibration response for damage detection was measured by tracking the first natural frequency, which demonstrated good result that matched the finite element (FE) analysis.
ISSN:1424-8220