• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.141-145
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• 2014

This paper presents a structural health monitoring method using piezoelectric paint sensor designed for an impact sensor. The piezoelectric paint sensor can be flexibly deposited onto most structural surfaces in a thin form of the paint, and measure impact signals without any external device such as a power amplifier. In this study, a composite plate having four zones coated with piezoelectric paint was used for impact monitoring test. The sensitivity of the piezoelectric paint sensor was obtained by measuring the output voltages against the impact force. In addition to the sensitivity measurement, the impact position has been also estimated by comparing the output signals of the paint sensors when the impact occurs on the specimen.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.349-357
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• 2015

The piezoelectric paint sensor is a paint type sensor comprising of an epoxy and piezoelectric powder, which is the main component of a piezoelectric material. This sensor can be easily attached to any type of structure as compared to other sensors because it is viable to directly apply it on structures, as in the case with a typical paint. In this study, the capability of piezoelectric paint sensor for impact detection was evaluated. In Particular, the applications of the piezoelectric paint sensor for railroad vehicles were considered. There have been various cases reported about the damages caused by flying gravel to the under-cover of the railroad vehicle during operation. In order to prevent this, real-time monitoring of the large under-cover surface of the railroad vehicle is unavoidable. Under the assumption of vehicle application, sensor sensitivities were measured after multiple and prolonged exposure to thermal cycle environment $-20{\sim}60^{\circ}C$). Sensitivity evaluation of paint sensor under environmental conditions was conducted in an aluminum specimen. In results, despite the small variations in sensitivity, we could confirm the applicability of this paint sensor for impact detection even after a severe environmental exposure test.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.1069-1074
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• 2014

In this study, the piezoelectric characteristics of a piezoelectric paint sensor were investigated in relation to the poling time. This piezoelectric paint sensor was composed of PNN-PZT powder and epoxy resin with a 1:1 weight ratio. The dimensions of the paint specimen were $40{\times}10{\times}1mm^3$, and the top and bottom sides were both coated with a silver paste to create electrodes. During the poling treatment, the poling time was controlled to examine the effect of the piezoelectric properties, while the poling temperature was fixed at room temperature and the electric field was set to 4 kV/mm. The piezoelectric properties were measured by comparing the output voltage from the paint sensor to the force signal from an impact hammer when the impact hammer hit the specimen. In conclusion, the optimal poling conditions were found to be an electric field of 4 kV/mm and a poling time of around 30 min at room temperature.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1335-1343
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• 2014

Piezoelectric paint can be used to monitor vibrations or impacts occurring in large engineering structures such as ships and airplanes. This study investigated the impact detection characteristics of a piezoelectric paint sensor and possible errors in detecting impacts according to boundary conditions. The piezoelectric paint sensor used in this study was coated on an aluminum plate with four different electrode areas. After the occurrence of the poling process, the output voltages from the paint sensors were obtained when impact occurred in a certain sensor region. The experimental results revealed a large difference in magnitudes between the sensor signal in the impact region and those in the other regions, and this relation was maintained regardless of the changes in the boundary conditions.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2019

To detect the impact location of a structure, the authors' group conducted a study on piezoelectric paint sensor. The piezoelectric paint sensors are used for impact detection due to their inherent characteristics: sensitivity to high-frequency signal and impact. Additionally, the paint sensor can be applied on curved and complex structures where ceramic sensor would not be applicable. Moreover it is a self-powered sensor therefore no need for an external power source. For impact localization, mosaic pattern electrodes were coated on the specimen and the impact signal obtained from any part of the electrode where the impact occurred. If we more precise impact localization is required, the electrodes should be divided into more parts and impact data acquisition conducted in all the points of the electrode. In this paper, we developed a light, cheap and simple multi-channel data acquisition system to aid in data gathering. In total four channels data acquisition have been tested using the ARM Cortex-M3.

• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.146-151
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• 2014

In this study, the experimental study has been performed by varying the polarization of the electric field and impact force to check the piezoelectric characteristics of piezoelectric paint sensor. Piezoelectric paint sensor used in this study is composed of epoxy resin with a hardener and PNN-PZT powder in 1:1 weight ratio. The dimensions of the paint sensor specimen are $40{\times}40{\times}1mm^3$ and regular specimens were made using a mold. The voids are removed from the specimen in the vacuum desiccator. Both upper side and bottom side of the paint sensor were coated with silver paste for making an electrode and then dried at room temperature for a day. The poling treatment has been carried out under controlled conditions of the electric field in order to check the effect of piezoelectric sensitivities, while the poling temperature was fixed at room temperature and the poling time was set to 30 min. The piezoelectric sensitivities have been measured by comparing output voltage from paint sensor with output force from impact hammer when the impact hammer hits the paint sensor. In result, the effect of the electric field has been evaluated for the sensitivity and describe the result.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.433-441
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• 2023

Piezoelectric ceramics play an important role in electrical and electronic devices such as sensors, actuators, and microelectronic devices. However, traditional ceramics are difficult to be used in various process industries due to their high brittleness and low flexibility. Therefore, piezoelectric paint sensors have been designed for application to the curved surfaces of complicated structures. Furthermore, recently, significant attention has been focused on the development of paint sensors that can be used as structure health monitoring sensors for vibration, impact, and acoustic emission. Several studies have successfully demonstrated the possibility that smart paint sensors can take the place of traditional ceramic sensors. In this review, we briefly introduce the concept of the piezoelectric paint sensors and the expected application field as well as their preparation and history.