This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating a novel multi-scale sensing technology to fill the technology void in high-spatial resolution, non-invasive and non-contact measurement of material stresses and damage.  The system is important because it provides structural integrity assessments in critical components for applications ranging from aerospace structures including metallics and composites to civil structures such as steel gussets in bridges and buildings to enhance safety.
The project will result in the development and scale-up of multi-scale, in-situ piezospectroscopic technology. This uses a stress sensitive photo-luminescent material that can be embedded in coatings on various structures. The stress distribution is monitored based on optics technology which measure shifts in the emission spectrum that are related to stress. This has the following unique features: capability to provide intrinsic measurements of material stress; multi-scale spatial resolution; in-situ measurements under various loading conditions. These features provide the following advantages: quantitative stress determination for a variety of structural substrates of metallic and composite origin under various load environments, as well as demonstrated early damage detection when compared to the leading competing non-invasive techniques such as Digital image correlation in this market space. Â
This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application; i) materials technology - the deployment of sensing material needs to be optimized to define a process configuration that ensures excellent bonding and uniform dispersion of particles for effective and reliable sensing performance ii) optics technology - the measurement of photo-luminescence emission from the particles must be improved from point detection to area detection methods while ensuring current spatial and stress resolution capabilities are maintained for efficient inspection technology.
In addition, personnel involved in this project, including a graduate and undergraduate student, will receive technology translation experiences through industry collaboration and UCF's resources for entrepreneurship, which facilitates opportunities such as the use of Maker Spaces and access to participation in the NSF ICorps program at UCF's I-Corps Site. The project engages Lumium, an optical measurements company, and Imperial College in London to overcome challenges in area scanning and effective dispersion in this technology translation effort from research discovery toward commercial reality.
