Low-Cost Inkjet-Printed Temperature Sensors on Paper Substrate for the Integration into Natural Fiber-Reinforced Lightweight Components

Abstract

In a unique approach to develop a “green” solution for in-situ monitoring, low-cost inkjet-printed temperature sensors on paper substrate were fully integrated into natural fiber-reinforced lightweight components for which structural health monitoring is becoming increasingly important. The results showed that the sensors remained functional after the vacuum infusion process; furthermore, the integration of the sensors improved the mechanical integrity and stability of the lightweight parts, as demonstrated by tensile testing. To verify the qualification of the printed sensors for the target application, the samples were exposed to varying temperature and humidity conditions inside of a climate chamber. The sensors showed linear temperature dependence in the temperature range of interest (−20 to 60 °C) with a TCR ranging from 1.576 × 10−3 K−1 to 1.713 × 10−3 K−1. Furthermore, the results from the tests in humid environments indicated that the used paper-based sensors could be made almost insensitive to changes in ambient humidity by embedding them into fiber-reinforced lightweight materials. This study demonstrates the feasibility of fully integrating paper-based printed sensors into lightweight components, which paves the way towards integration of other highly relevant sensing devices, such as strain and humidity sensors, for structural health monitoring of smart, sustainable, and environmentally compatible lightweight composite materials.

Inkjet-Printed Temperature Sensors Characterized according to Standards

“…With improved selection of materials and manufacturing parameters, researchers were able to tune the nanoparticle structures towards the property of bulk silver. The range of TCR of printed silver nanoparticle temperature sensors in the literature varies between 0.6 × 10 −3 K −1 and 2.8 × 10 −3 K −1 [ 2 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The properties of silver nanoparticle sensors are documented in Table 1 .…”

“…At a temperature of 60 °C, the influence of the increased humidity was 0.26%, which equals an error of 1.64 °C. Non-encapsulated sensors showed an increase of 10% due to the humidity variation, which shows that an encapsulation is a great option to reduce such cross-influences [ 9 ]. Mutee ur Rehman investigated the encapsulation of printed PEDOT:PSS temperature sensors with an Al 2 O 3 layer.…”

“…The characterization usually includes evaluation of the temperature coefficient of resistance, hysteresis, and linearity. More rarely characterized properties of inkjet-printed temperature sensors are drift, response time, repeatability, cross-sensitivity to bending, and humidity [ 2 , 9 , 10 ]. One difficulty concerning the characterization in the literature is that the evaluation processes were conducted differently, which makes it difficult to compare the properties of the sensors.…”

Sustainable Multifunctional Biface Sensor Tag

“…This paper‐based biface multi‐sensor tag could be of particular importance in lightweight construction and in the case of natural fiber‐reinforced composite materials, due to its sustainable fabrication. Although previous work has shown that the integration of paper‐based sensors per se does not negatively affect the mechanical integrity of lightweight elements, [ 5 ] but the 3D geometry of the packaged chip could. To counteract this, bare dies or even ultra‐thinned chips [ 33 ] could be employed.…”

Colorimetric Determination of Nitrate after Reduction to Nitrite in a Paper-Based Dip Strip

“…These devices can also provide qualitative or quantitative results and data at the point of care without the need for specialized equipment or power sources. Several paper-based devices have been developed for various applications, such as for water analysis [1][2][3][4], biomedical applications [5,6], food analysis [7][8][9][10], soil analysis [11] and many other miscellaneous applications [12][13][14][15]. The field of paper-based microfluidics is expected to continue garnering greater attention as more applications are sought after or the performance improved for the ones already developed [16].…”