Flexible High Energy-Conversion Sensing Materials for Structural Health Monitoring

The applicant is developing flexible highly-efficient piezoelectric materials for use in structural health monitoring (SHM) as contemplated in the solicitation topic. Phase I will demonstrate and verify the superior properties and sensing performance of these innovative materials, utilizing commercially available piezoelectric materials as a baseline for comparison. The proposed materials may have widespread application for sensing and monitoring vehicle and structure vibration and strain loading. The specific solution proposed by the applicant simultaneously solves several problems common to SHM systems, including the ability to easily realize distributed sensing networks; reduction or elimination of additional wiring and electrical power; minimal increase in vehicle or structure weight. Phase I will focus on the characterization and demonstration of the new sensing materials as they represent the primary technical innovation. Phase II would expand the project to a complete SHM system, combining the sensing materials developed in Phase I with data collection and reduction algorithms.