9. Development of a Novel Health Monitoring System for Adhesively Bonded Composite Joints Using Magneto-Electric Nanoparticles

Abstract

Current structural health monitoring techniques have limited capabilities of determining bond health due to environmental exposure, mechanical damage, and surface contamination. This research is intended to investigate the possibility of using magneto-electric nanoparticles (MENs) to develope a multifunctional adhesive in which the MENs would provide a means to monitor the health of the bond non-invasively. Magnetic signatures were measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Adhesive samples were doped with varying levels of volume concentration of MENs and introduced into an environmental chamber at an elevated temperature and relative humidity. The magnetic moments of the adhesive samples before and after environmental exposure were compared. The results indicate that the VSM scans can detect magnetic moments with an order of magnitude difference. The magnetic signatures reach a saturation point in which the signal does not change due to volume concentration.