ABS-PLA-Al composite for digital twinning of heritage buildings

Abstract

In the past two decades, significant studies have been reported on the use of 3D-printed thermal sensors for online health monitoring of heritage buildings. But hitherto little has been reported on the 4D capability of such thermal sensors for the digital twinning of heritage buildings. In this study, 80% acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and 20% polylactic acid (PLA) matrix (by wt %), was reinforced with 5% Al powder (≈45-50 µm) based on melt flow index (MFI). The substrate (as a passive sensor) of ABS-PLA-5 %Al was 3D printed with fused filament fabrication (FFF) for the construction of a micro-strip patch antenna (MPA) as an internet of things (IoT) based solution for online health monitoring and digital twinning of heritage buildings. The dielectric properties (dielectric constant (ɛr) and loss tangent (tanδ)) were explored by using a ring resonator test to ascertain the dimensions and design of the passive sensor. For 4D capabilities, the prepared sensor was exposed to two stimuli (temperature and moisture) for exploring its use as a digital twinning component.