• Composites Research
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.61-67
• /
• 2004

Nondestructive damage sensitivity on single-basalt fiber/epoxy composites was evaluated by micromechanical technique and acoustic emission (AE). Piezoelectric lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymer were used as AE sensor, respectively. In single-fiber composite, the damage sensing with different sensor types were compared to each other. Piezoelectric PVDF polymer sensor was embedded in and attached on the composite, whereas PZT sensor was only attached on the surface of specimen. In case of embedded polymer sensors, responding sensitivity was higher than that of the attached case. It can be due to full constraint inside specimen to transfer elastic wave coming from micro-deformation. For both the attached and the embedded cases, the sensitivity of P(VDF-TrFE) sensor was almost same as that of conventional PVDF sensor.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2013

The PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) fibers were prepared using the wet spinning processing. To improve ${\beta}$-phase crystalline which closely related piezoelectric property PVDF wet spun fibers conducted post treatment. Post treatment is consisted of heat stretching and annealing process. The heat stretching and annealing conditions were controlled by changing temperature between glass transition temperature and melting temperature. From these experimental data, the resulting crystal structure of the ${\beta}$-phase crystalline was confirmed by FT-IR and XRD experiments. From these analysis results, optimum stretching and annealing conditions of the wet spun PVDF fibers were founded to increase high ${\beta}$-phase crystalline. Furthermore results showed that thermal processing had a direct effect on modifying the crystalline microstructure and also confirmed that heat stretching and annealing could increase the degree of crystallinity and ${\beta}$-phase crystalline. Finally, piezoelectric constant ($d_{11}$) of the post heat treated PVDF fibers reinforced composite were measured to investigate the feasibility for the sensing materials.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.1908-1919
• /
• 2015

This work investigated the potential of curcumin (CCM) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) to inhibit N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated biofilm formation in gram-negative bacteria from membrane bioreactor (MBR) activated sludge. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of CCM alone against all the tested bacteria were 200-350 μg/ml, whereas those for EGCG were 300-600 μg/ml. Biofilm formation at one-half MICs indicated that CCM and EGCG alone respectively inhibited 52-68% and 59-78% of biofilm formation among all the tested bacteria. However, their combination resulted in 95-99% of biofilm reduction. Quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) assay with known biosensor strains demonstrated that CCM inhibited the expression of C4 and C6 homoserine lactones (HSLs)-mediated phenotypes, whereas EGCG inhibited C4, C6, and C10 HSLs-based phenotypes. The Center for Disease Control biofilm reactor containing a multispecies culture of nine bacteria with one-half MIC of CCM (150 μg/ml) and EGCG (275 μg/ml) showed 17 and 14 μg/cm² of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on polyvinylidene fluoride membrane surface, whereas their combination (100 μg/ml of each) exhibited much lower EPS content (3 μg/cm²). Confocal laser scanning microscopy observations also illustrated that the combination of compounds tremendously reduced the biofilm thickness. The combined effect of CCM with EGCG clearly reveals for the first time the enhanced inhibition of AHL-mediated biofilm formation in bacteria from activated sludge. Thus, such combined natural QSI approach could be used for the inhibition of membrane biofouling in MBRs treating wastewaters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.491-491
• /
• 2011

Transparent and flexible electronic devices that are light-weight, unbreakable, low power consumption, optically transparent, and mechanical flexible possibly have great potential in new applications of digital gadgets. Potential applications include transparent displays, heads-up display, sensor, and artificial skin. Recent reports on transparent and flexible field-effect transistors (tf-FETs) have focused on improving mechanical properties, optical transmittance, and performances. Most of tf-FET devices were fabricated with transparent oxide semiconductors which mechanical flexibility is limited. And, there have been no reports of transparent and flexible all-organic tf-FETs fabricated with organic semiconductor channel, gate dielectric, gate electrode, source/drain electrode, and encapsulation for sensor applications. We present the first demonstration of transparent, flexible all-organic sensor based on multifunctional organic FETs with organic semiconductor channel, gate dielectric, and electrodes having a capability of sensing infrared (IR) radiation and mechanical strain. The key component of our device design is to integrate the poly(vinylidene fluoride-triflouroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE) co-polymer directly into transparent and flexible OFETs as a multi-functional dielectric layer, which has both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The P(VDF-TrFE) co-polumer gate dielectric has a high sensitivity to the wavelength regime over 800 nm. In particular, wavelength variations of P(VDF-TrFE) molecules coincide with wavelength range of IR radiation from human body (7000 nm ~14000 nm) so that the devices are highly sensitive with IR radiation of human body. Devices were examined by measuring IR light response at different powers. After that, we continued to measure IR response under various bending radius. AC (alternating current) gate biasing method was used to separate the response of direct pyroelectric gate dielectric and other electrical parameters such as mobility, capacitance, and contact resistance. Experiment results demonstrate that the tf-OTFT with high sensitivity to IR radiation can be applied for IR sensors.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.6 no.5_6
• /
• pp.641-659
• /
• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) gradually becomes a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and is also an important approach for the research of the damage accumulation and disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures. It is attracting prodigious research interests and the active development interests of scientists and engineers because a great number of civil infrastructures are planned and built every year in mainland China. In a SHM system the sheer number of accompanying wires, fiber optic cables, and other physical transmission medium is usually prohibitive, particularly for such structures as offshore platforms and long-span structures. Fortunately, with recent advances in technologies in sensing, wireless communication, and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor technique has been developing rapidly and is being used gradually in the SHM of civil engineering structures. In this paper, some recent advances in the research, development, and implementation of wireless sensors for the SHM of civil infrastructures in mainland China, especially in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), are introduced. Firstly, a kind of wireless digital acceleration sensors for structural global monitoring is designed and validated in an offshore structure model. Secondly, wireless inclination sensor systems based on Frequency-hopping techniques are developed and applied successfully to swing monitoring of large-scale hook structures. Thirdly, wireless acquisition systems integrating with different sensing materials, such as Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF), strain gauge, piezoresistive stress/strain sensors fabricated by using the nickel powder-filled cement-based composite, are proposed for structural local monitoring, and validating the characteristics of the above materials. Finally, solutions to the key problem of finite energy for wireless sensors networks are discussed, with future works also being introduced, for example, the wireless sensor networks powered by corrosion signal for corrosion monitoring and rapid diagnosis for large structures.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.93-99
• /
• 2020

A colorimetric paper sensor was used to detect volatile nitrogen-containing compounds emitted from spoiled salmon filets to determine their freshness. The sensing mechanism was based on acid-base reactions between acidic pH-indicating dyes and basic volatile ammonia and amines. A sensing layer was simply fabricated by drop-casting a dye solution of bromocresol green (BCG) on a polyvinylidene fluoride substrate, and its color-change response was enhanced by optimizing the amounts of additive chemicals, such as polyethylene glycol, p-toluene sulfonic acid, and graphene oxide in the dye solution. To avoid the adverse effects of water vapor, both faces of the sensing layer were enclosed by using a polyethylene terephthalate film and a gas-permeable microporous polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, respectively. When exposed to basic gas analytes, the paper-like sensor distinctly exhibited a color change from initially yellow, then to green, and finally to blue due to the deprotonation of BCG via the Brønsted acid-base reaction. The use of ammonia analyte as a test gas confirmed that the sensing performance of the optimized sensor was reversible and excellent (detection time of < 15 min, sensitive naked-eye detection at 0.25 ppm, good selectivity to common volatile organic gases, and good stability against thermal stress). Finally, the coloration intensity of the sensor was quantified as a function of the storage time of the salmon filet at 28℃ to evaluate its usefulness in monitoring of the food freshness with the measurement of the total viable count (TVC) of microorganisms in the food. The TVC value increased from 3.2 × 10⁵ to 3.1 × 10⁹ cfu/g in 28 h and then became stable, whereas the sensor response abruptly changed in the first 8 h and slightly increased thereafter. This result suggests that the colorimetric response could be used as an indicator for evaluating the degree of decay of salmon induced by microorganisms.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.30 no.4 s.247
• /
• pp.364-372
• /
• 2006

In this paper, we present a finger tip tactile sensor which can detect contact normal force as well as slip. The sensor is made up of two different materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) known as piezoelectric polymer, and pressure variable resistor ink. In order to detect slip on the surface of the object, two PVDF strips are arranged along the normal direction in the robot finger tip and the thumb tip. The surface electrode of the PVDF strip is fabricated using silk-screening technique with silver paste. Also a thin flexible force sensor is fabricated in the form of a matrix using pressure variable resistor ink in order to sense the static force. The developed tactile sensor is physically flexible and it can be deformed three-dimensionally to any shape so that it can be placed on anywhere on the curved surface. In addition, a tactile sensing system is developed, which includes miniaturized charge amplifier to amplify the small signal from the sensor, and the fast signal processing unit. The sensor system is evaluated experimentally and its effectiveness is validated.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.152-157
• /
• 2014

Non-destructive testing methods of composite materials are very important for improving material reliability and safety. AE measurement is based on the detection of microscopic surface movements from stress waves in a material during the fracture process. The examination of AE is a useful tool for the sensitive detection and location of active damage in polymer and composite materials. FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) sensors have attracted much interest owing to the important advantages of optical fiber sensing. Compared to conventional electronic sensors, fiber-optical sensors are known for their high resolution and high accuracy. Furthermore, they offer important advantages such as immunity to electromagnetic interference, and electrically passive operation. In this paper, the crack detection capability of AE (Acoustic Emission) measurement was compared with that of an FBG sensor under tensile testing and buckling test of composite materials. The AE signals of the PVDF sensor were measured and an AE signal analyzer, which had a low pass filter and a resonance filter, was designed and fabricated. Also, the wavelength variation of the FBG sensor was measured and its strain was calculated. Calculated strains were compared with those determined by finite element analysis.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.1808-1813
• /
• 2005

In this paper, we present the finger tip tactile sensor which can detect contact normal force as well as slip. The developed sensor is made of two different materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) that is known as piezoelectric polymer and pressure variable resistor ink. In order to detect slip to surface of object, a PVDF strip is arranged along the normal direction in the robot finger tip and the thumb tip. The surface electrode of the PVDF strip is fabricated using silk-screening technique with silver paste. Also a thin flexible force sensor is fabricated in the form of a matrix using pressure variable resistor ink in order to sense the static force. The developed tactile sensor is physically flexible and it can be deformed three-dimensionally to any shape so that it can be placed on anywhere on the curved surface. In addition, we developed a tactile sensing system by miniaturizing the charge amplifier, in order to amplify the small signal from the sensor, and the fast signal processing unit. The sensor system is evaluated experimentally and its effectiveness is validated.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.594-599
• /
• 2006

In this paper an anthropomorphic robot hand called SKKU Hand IIl is presented, which has a miniaturized fingertip tactile sensor. The thumb is designed as one part of the palm and multiplies the mobility of the palm. The fingertip tactile sensor, based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and pressure variable resistor ink, is physically flexible enough to be deformed into any three-dimensional geometry. In order to detect incipient slip, a PVDF strip is arranged along the direction normal to the surface of the finger of the robot hand. Also, a thin flexible sensor to sense the static force as well as the contact location is fabricated into an arrayed type using pressure variable resistor ink. The driving circuits and the tactile sensing systems for the SKKU Hand II are embedded in the hand. Each driving circuit communicates with others using CAN protocol. SKKU Hand II is manufactured and its feasibility is validated through preliminary experiments.