Direct Printing of Strain Sensors via Nanoparticle Printer for the Applications to Composite Structural Health Monitoring

A newly developed nanoparticle printer is presented for high resolution pattering of conductive nanoparticles onto the carbon and glass fiber reinforced composites. The nanoparticles are aerodynamically focused to generate nanoparticle beam for high resolution patterns. The resulting conductive patterns are evaluated for the strain measurement of composites for structural health monitoring (SHM). A series of strain sensors are printed onto the composites and their performances are characterized in terms of gauge factor, measurable range, and etc. The presented work leverages the advanced techniques of process and part monitoring of composite manufacturing as well as for the SHM of the composite.