PI: Victor Giurgiutiu Univ. South Carolina
The project will use nano fabrication methods (such as pulsed laser deposition) and advanced nano investigative techniques (such as SEAM, SPM, TEM, EPMA, EDS, HR-SEM, AFM, XRD) to grow miniaturized thin-film active sensor arrays on typical structural materials for use in advanced structural health monitoring applications. Appropriate buffer interfaces to ensure durable adherence of the ferroelectric film to the structural material and coherent epitaxial growth will be developed. High-performance environmentally friendly ferroelectric compositions will be developed. Modeling and analysis will be used in developing the buffered interface, the nano-fabrication processing methods, and the Lamb/Rayleigh wave phased-array algorithms for structural health monitoring applications of these new devices. The highly interdisciplinary character of the proposal is covered by a sensors small team with members from the disciplines of material science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and physics, spanning over four universities (Louisiana State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at San Antonio), of which one is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI): The project will employed analytical modeling, numerical simulation, and experimental validation. It will build on the preliminary results obtained by the individual investigators. In additional to technical activities, the project will address important sensors education and outreach activities.
This is an EPSCoR research project supported under sensor solicitation NSF 05-625.
