Aerosol-Printed Strain Sensor Using PEDOT:PSS

Recently, printed electronics have received growing attention as a method to produce low-cost large-area electronics on flexible substrates. This technology relies on printing techniques to deposit electrically functional materials onto flexible substrates to fabricate circuits with various electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, and transistors. In this paper, we apply the printed electronics technology to the development of strain sensors for measuring dynamic strain of a structure. To print sensors, we develop an aerosol printing system capable of atomizing a material solution into microscopic particles and depositing the particles on a target surface. Using this system, a water-based conductive polymer, PEDOT:PSS solution is deposited on a plastic beam. Then, piezoresistive sensing capabilities of the printed strain sensor are studied for low frequency cyclic loadings. Finally, the performance of the printed sensor is compared with a conventional thin-foil strain gauge for measuring dynamic strain of a beam under free vibration. The results show that this type of printed strain sensor can be used to accurately measure structural vibrations.