3D-printed stretchable strain sensor with application to wind sensing

  • Mohammed Al-Rubaiai
  • , Ryohei Tsuruta
  • , Umesh Gandhi
  • , Chuan Wang
  • , Xiaobo Tan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Stretchable strain sensors with large strain range, high sensitivity, and excellent reliability are of great interest for applications in soft robotics, wearable devices, and structure-monitoring systems. Unlike conventional template lithography-based approaches, 3D-printing can be used to fabricate complex devices in a simple and cost-effective manner. In this paper, we report 3D-printed stretchable strain sensors that embeds a flexible conductive composite material in a hyper–plastic substrate. Three commercially available conductive filaments are explored, among which the conductive thermoplastic polyurethane (ETPU) shows the highest sensitivity (gauge factor of 5), with a working strain range of 0% – 20%. The ETPU strain sensor exhibits an interesting behavior where the conductivity increases with the strain. In addition, an experiment for measuring the wind speed is conducted inside a wind tunnel, where the ETPU sensor shows sensitivity to the wind speed beyond 5.6 m/s.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDevelopment and Characterization of Multifunctional Materials; Modeling, Simulation, and Control of Adaptive Systems; Integrated System Design and Implementation
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791851944
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
EventASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2018 - San Antonio, United States
Duration: Sep 10 2018Sep 12 2018

Publication series

NameASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2018
Volume1

Conference

ConferenceASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Antonio
Period09/10/1809/12/18

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