Carbon Nanotube Sensor Thread for Structural Health Monitoring of Composites

This project will manufacture carbon nanotube(CNT) sensor/tape for use in distributed structural health monitoring(SHM) systems that will be integrated into/onto composite materials to provide damage detection, localization, and characterization. Composite test samples with internally integrated sensors will be built and evaluated to detect/locate multiple damage modes including fiber breakage and delamination. Analytical predictions of the damage magnitude and likely progression of detected flaws over time will be made. Composites with integrated CNT sensor thread/tape will have the following advantages: Self-Sensing- CNT piezoresistive thread can measure strain/damage, thread impedance decreases at high frequency increasing sensitivity Increased Strength- Composite strength will increase based on CNT volume fraction Damage Limiting- CNT thread has high strain to failure and will self-limit damage by absorbing strain energy Improved Transport- CNT thread has high thermal and electrical conductivity in-plane No Significant Added Weight or Size- There is almost no added mass of the sensor thread Modest Cost- Cost for the CNT materials and composites processing is modest Detection, Localization, and Characterization of Damage- Discerning between a crack and delamination will use a computer algorithm to map the shape of damage Improved Composites- Can determine failure progression in composites and provide understanding how to reinforce composites