Could Self-Sensing Materials Be the Future of 3D Printing?

What if 3D printed materials could detect problems before it was too late to solve them? Engineers at the University of Glasgow are working on making that possible by creating a system capable of modeling the physics of self-sensing 3D printed composites. The materials can detect strain, load, and damage using only a measure of electrical current, and this could allow the status of materials to be monitored in real-time, unlocking the potential for safety and quality assurance features for various applications.

How do these self-sensing materials work? According to the press release from the University of Glasgow, “Weaving fine strands of carbon nanotubes throughout materials can allow them to carry an electrical current, imbuing them with the ability to monitor their own structural integrity through a phenomenon called piezoresistivity.” If the electrical current changes, it can mean that the material has been crushed or stretched, permitting the fault to be addressed.

The four different lattices created by the University of Glasgow engineers (Photo credit: University of Glasgow)

Professor Shanmugam Kumar, of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, led the research. He explained, “Imparting piezoresistive behavior to 3D-printed cellular materials gives them the ability to monitor their own performance without any additional hardware.”