Piezoelectric Paint Sensors for Ultrasonics‐based Damage Detection

Abstract

This paper reviews the state of the art in piezoelectric paint sensor technology and its potential application to ultrasonic-based damage detection. Piezoelectric paint is a composite piezoelectric material with adjustable material properties that are not easily attainable in a single-phase material. Through judicious selection of the polymer matrix, the composite properties of the piezoelectric paint can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of an application condition. Because of its ease of application, piezoelectric paint can be easily deposited onto the complex surface of host structures and it uniformly cures at ambient temperature. The ultrasonic wave sensing capability of piezoelectric paint sensor has been verified with experimental results from a series of pitch–catch ultrasonic tests or simulated acoustic emission test. The piezoelectric paint sensor appears to offer a promising transducer technology for ultrasonic-based nondestructive evaluation such as close-range acoustic emission sensor and ultrasonic guided wave–based embedded sensors in metal or fiber reinforced polymer composite structures. Keywords: acoustic emission; crack; nondestructive evaluation; piezoelectricity; sensor; ultrasonic; guided wave; composite material