PECASE: Nanoengineered Sensing Skins for Structural Health Monitoring - An Integrated Research and Education Career Experience

结构健康监测（SHM）系统为老化的民用基础设施系统提供了经济有效的健康管理解决方案。当前SHM系统的特点是使用传感器来测量系统中特定点的行为。相比之下，本提案探索了分布式传感皮肤的创建，该皮肤可以提供直接的损伤空间映射。所提出的传感器范例受到人类皮肤系统的启发，该系统提供了对环境的分布式、多模态感知。采用碳纳米管和聚电解质的可控分子组装产生了均匀的多层薄膜，其中同时嵌入了四种传感模式：应变、pH、湿度和离子摄取。为了测量每个刺激对应的电导率变化的空间分布，采用电阻抗层析成像。智能结构技术也可以作为中学生数学和科学教学的一个令人兴奋的背景。为了解决工程领域缺乏多样性的问题，并培养年轻学生对工程专业的认识，建议在底特律市中心开展一项中学推广计划。将创建动手学习模块，探索传感器操作背后的科学原理和结构损伤的形成。此外，还将开设智能结构技术专业短期课程，聘请专业工程师担任外联导师。

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems offer cost-effective health management solutions for aging civil infrastructure systems. Current SHM systems are characterized by the use of sensors that measure behavior at a specific point in the system. In contrast, this proposal explores the creation of a distributed sensing skin that provides direct spatial mapping of damage. The sensor paradigm proposed is inspired by the human dermatological system which offers distributed, multimodal sensing of the environment. Controlled molecular assembly employing carbon nanotubes and polyelectrolytes yields a homogenous multi-layered thin film in which four sensing modalities are simultaneously embedded: strain, pH, humidity and ionic uptake. To measure the spatial distribution of conductivity changes corresponding to each stimulus, electrical impedance tomography is adopted. Smart structure technology can also serve as an exciting backdrop for teaching math and science to middle-school students. To address the lack of diversity in engineering and to develop an awareness of the engineering profession in young underrepresented students, a middle-school outreach program is proposed for inner-city Detroit. Hands-on learning modules that explore the scientific principles behind the operation of sensors and the formation of damage in structures will be created. In addition, a professional short-course on smart structure technology will be created to recruit professional engineers to serve as outreach mentors.