Piezoelectric sensors for spacecraft and aerospace SHM applications
This project develops inkjet-printed piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors for real-time structural health monitoring (SHM) of spacecraft and aerospace structures. The sensors achieve superior performance compared to commercial transducers while enabling scalable, low-cost manufacturing through additive fabrication.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Damage Localization Error | < 1% |
| Sensitivity vs. Commercial | 38% higher |
| Fabrication Method | Inkjet printing |
| Target Application | Spacecraft SHM |
Piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers generate and receive guided Lamb waves that propagate through structural materials. Changes in wave characteristics (amplitude, time-of-flight, frequency content) indicate the presence and location of structural damage.
- Inkjet-printed fabrication enables conformal sensor arrays on complex geometries
- Nanomaterial-based piezoelectric inks optimized for ultrasonic frequency response
- Signal processing algorithms for automated damage detection and localization
- U.S. Navy Environmental Science Award (2025)
- Air Force Certificate of Achievement (2025)
- W.L. Gore & Associates Engineering First Award (2025)
- Presented findings to the Chief of Naval Research; commended by ONR and AFRL leadership
U.S. Provisional Patent No. 63/775,901 — Inkjet-Printed Ultrasonic Sensor for Structural Health Monitoring
- Simulation: COMSOL Multiphysics (wave propagation modeling)
- Signal Processing: MATLAB, Python
- Fabrication: Inkjet printing of piezoelectric nanomaterials
- Hardware: Arduino-based data acquisition
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
Maximilian Kopp — maxkopptech.com | ORCID