I-Corps: Exploring Commercialization of Nanostructured Composite Sensors

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is in the technology transfer of novel manufacturing approaches and new nanostructured composite sensors to commercial applications. The manufacturing and sensing approach is scalable for real-world applications and offers potential reliability, flexibility, and cost viability. The industrial scalability of the manufacturing process to produce a wide range of geometries, ranging from complex structural components to miniaturized sensors, may lead to a broad range of potential commercial applications. Nanostructured composite sensors enable distributed sensing with high sensor sensitivity. For possible applications in structural health monitoring the sensors have the potential to dramatically improve the safety and reliability of civil infrastructure or vehicles, resulting in protection against failure and reduced maintenance costs.This I-Corps project builds upon prior research in both scalable processing of carbon nanotube-based composites and the development of novel sensing methodologies for the detection of deformation and damage in structural materials. The nanotubes are integrated into fiber reinforced composites to create nerve-like electrically conductive networks thereby enabling distributed sensing capabilities arising from resistivity and impedance changes of the network. Through coating carbon nanotubes onto fibers the nanotubes form an electrically conductive sensor network that is sensitive to deformation and damage in structural materials. The techniques offer spatial coverage, distributed sensing capability and manufacturing customizability, and are scalable for field applications with a high degree of flexibility. Complementary analysis techniques are developed to interpret the data collected from the sensors to reconstruct and report the location, extent, and growth of structural damage. Better understanding the critical needs of manufacturers and end-users will enable the team to identify potential future research and commercial applications of these sensors in specific application areas.