Webbing structures, such as seatbelts and inflatable space structures, are typically subject to a variety of stress factors that reduce their strength, such as mechanical forces and ultraviolet light. However, our capability of detecting exposure to these stress factors is still limited.
In their new paper, Research Assistant Professor Peng Zhang (now Assisstant Professor at Tennessee Tech University), Ph.D. Student Nicco Ulbricht, Postdoctoral Associate Alain Boldini, and Dr. Osgar John Ohanian III (Luna Innovations), led by Prof. Maurizio Porfiri demonstrated that nylon threads commonly used in the webbing industry can be functionalized to serve as indicators of exposure to stress factors. These functionalized threads can include different sections that enable simultaneous sensing of mechanical strain and ultraviolet light exposure.
Read the full paper “Multifunctional nylon filaments for simultaneous ultra-violet light and strain sensing”, published in The European Physical Journal D here.
Image credit: Peng Zhang et al.