Remote and portable mechanoluminescence sensing system based on a SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy film and its potential application to monitoring the safety of gas pipelines

This paper describes the development of an entirely remote, portable, and low-cost sensor system that includes a mechanoluminescence (ML) sample, optical sensor, and wireless data transmitter module. A composite consisting of SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy and epoxy resin was used as the ML test sample. The performance of the ML system, including the wireless function and accuracy, were tested under laboratory conditions. The wireless module was confirmed to provide reliable synchronous data transmission. The ML sensor system was then utilized to measure the stress of an object in a practical application. The ML data were easily acquired even with an applied load of 300 N and eventually stabilized with continuous load cycles. The ML system was able to detect a crack in a gas pipeline during operation with high sensitivity. The combined results indicate that the designed ML sensor system can potentially be applied as a smart and wireless structural health monitoring system.