Applications of a nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor to acousto-ultrasonics-based passive and active structural health monitoring

Liu, Menglong; Zeng, Zhihui; Xu, Hao; Liao, Yaozhong; Zhou, Limin; Zhang, Zhong; Su, Zhongqing

doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2017.03.007

Cited by 29 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The impact energy and impact point could be quantitatively evaluated, based on the signal acquired by the printed sensors, using the delay-and-sum algorithm. 27…”

Section: Proof-of-concept Application: Impact Damage Localization Using Printed Sensor Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ultra-thin printable nanocomposite sensor network for structural health monitoring

Liao

Zhou

Pan

et al. 2019

Structural Health Monitoring

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A nanocomposite-based sensor ink made from carbon black and polyvinyl pyrrolidone was developed for fabricating a new breed of sensor by an inkjet printing approach, to accommodate the general purposes of structural health monitoring. This ink can be directly deposited onto the surface of various substrates or engineering structures such as polyimide film via computer-aided design to configure nanocomposite sensor arrays or dense sensor networks. Strong structure adaptability and high flexibility make this sensor a promising candidate to alternate traditional piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensors, in signal acquisition of dynamic disturbance on complex engineering structures. Lightweight and without the need to use wires or cables, the printed sensor network significantly reduces the weight and volume penalty imposed on the host structures, even when the network is deployed at a large scale. It also minimizes the possibility of exfoliation of the sensors from the host structure under cyclic load. The printed pattern distinguishes superior performance in the perception of acousto-ultrasonic signals from static up to 500 kHz, with high signal-to-noise ratio, sensitivity, and fidelity. By virtue of the tunneling current between two adjacent nanoparticles that are in close proximity (within several nanometers), the printed sensor network is capable of perceiving ultrasonic waves. The fabrication process of the sensor network does not entail any specially made printing facilities, and the carbon black/polyvinyl pyrrolidone hybrid can easily be injected into an inkjet cartridge for printing. Several confirmatory experiments and a proof-of-concept test were carried out based on the printed sensor network to validate the capability of the printed sensor for structural health monitoring.

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“…The impact energy and impact point could be quantitatively evaluated, based on the signal acquired by the printed sensors, using the delay-and-sum algorithm. 27…”

Section: Proof-of-concept Application: Impact Damage Localization Using Printed Sensor Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ultra-thin printable nanocomposite sensor network for structural health monitoring

Liao

Zhou

Pan

et al. 2019

Structural Health Monitoring

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“…These attractive features also render carbon nanocomposite materials promising candidates for sensors that are used to monitor conditions of engineering structures. [ 16–19 ] It has been shown on many occasions that carbon nanocomposite sensors can be highly sensitive to ultrasonic waves, capable of responding to dynamic strains down to the microscale with frequencies up to hundreds of kilohertz. [ 20 ] Also, it is believed that for sensing strains in the ultrasonic regime, the quantum tunneling effect plays the dominant role in determining the piezoresistive responses of the sensors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On a Highly Reproducible, Broadband Nanocomposite Ultrasonic Film Sensor Fabricated by Ultrasonic Atomization‐Assisted Spray Coating

et al. 2020

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In the last couple of decades, attaching sensors permanently onto in-service engineering structures has been a key strategy for conducting in situ structural integrity assessments. [1-4] In this respect, a wide range of sensors, which include but are not limited to optical fibers, [5,6] piezoelectric transducers, [7-9] electromagnetic acoustic transducers, [10,11] and polyvinylidene fluoride film sensors, [12,13] have been used in practice. However, the existing technologies suffer from various limitations, which include narrow frequency bandwidth, redundant volume and mass, high cost, and stringent requirements on coupling. In pursuit for improved sensing systems, sensors that are lightweight, flexible, cost effective, convenient to fabricate, and sensitive over a broad frequency range have attracted much R&D effort. Carbon nanoparticle-based composite materials, which emerged from recent research, have demonstrated the potential for satisfying the demands of modern sensing systems. The nanostructures of these materials are piezoresistive, such that the overall electrical resistance of a material varies with mechanical deformations. This is mainly attributed to 1) the inherent piezoresistivity of the nanofillers in the material, and changes in 2) the macroscopic resistances and 3) the quantum tunneling resistances between adjacent nanofillers when the distances between the nanofillers change with mechanical deformations. The latter phenomenon is known as the quantum tunneling effect. Wearable strain sensors that are fabricated from carbon nanocomposite materials [14-16] exhibit abundant merits, which include negligible weight, high physical flexibility, remarkable manufacturability, and outstanding sensitivity to microscopic deformations. These attractive features also render carbon nanocomposite materials promising candidates for sensors that are used to monitor conditions of engineering structures. [16-19] It has been shown on many occasions that carbon nanocomposite sensors can be highly sensitive to ultrasonic waves, capable of responding to dynamic strains down to the microscale with frequencies up to hundreds of kilohertz. [20] Also, it is believed that for sensing strains in the ultrasonic regime, the quantum tunneling effect plays the dominant role in determining the piezoresistive responses of the sensors. [21] Nanocomposite ultrasonic sensors are mainly fabricated from three different types of carbon nanofillers, namely, carbon black

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“…This type of nanocomposite-inspired sensor has the same sensitivity to the waves from different directions, showing advantage over conventional fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based sensors to some degree. Application paradigms of our previously developed hot-pressed sensors have highlighted the capability of the nanocomposite-inspired sensor in burgeoning passive AE- or active GUW-based SHM (for both human and engineering assets), tactile sensing, and wearable apparatus, in lieu of conventional sensors [30,32,33,34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Spray-on, Nanocomposite-Based Sensor Network for in-Situ Active Structural Health Monitoring

Cao

Zhou

Liao

et al. 2019

Sensors

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A new breed of nanocomposite-based spray-on sensor is developed for in-situ active structural health monitoring (SHM). The novel nanocomposite sensor is rigorously designed with graphene as the nanofiller and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the matrix, fabricated using a simple spray deposition process. Electrical analysis, as well as morphological characterization of the spray-on sensor, was conducted to investigate percolation characteristic, in which the optimal threshold (~0.91%) of the graphene/PVP sensor was determined. Owing to the uniform and stable conductive network formed by well-dispersed graphene nanosheets in the PVP matrix, the tailor-made spray-on sensor exhibited excellent piezoresistive performance. By virtue of the tunneling effect of the conductive network, the sensor was proven to be capable of perceiving signals of guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs) with ultrahigh frequency up to 500 kHz. Lightweight and flexible, the spray-on nanocomposite sensor demonstrated superior sensitivity, high fidelity, and high signal-to-noise ratio under dynamic strain with ultralow magnitude (of the order of micro-strain) that is comparable with commercial lead zirconate titanate (PZT) wafers. The sensors were further networked to perform damage characterization, and the results indicate significant application potential of the spray-on nanocomposite-based sensor for in-situ active GUW-based SHM.

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Applications of a nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor to acousto-ultrasonics-based passive and active structural health monitoring

Cited by 29 publications

References 51 publications

An ultra-thin printable nanocomposite sensor network for structural health monitoring

An ultra-thin printable nanocomposite sensor network for structural health monitoring

On a Highly Reproducible, Broadband Nanocomposite Ultrasonic Film Sensor Fabricated by Ultrasonic Atomization‐Assisted Spray Coating

A Spray-on, Nanocomposite-Based Sensor Network for in-Situ Active Structural Health Monitoring

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