The demand for acoustic wave-based sensors has rapidly increased in the aerospace, chemical, gas, and biological fields due to their versatility in sensing measurands. This study aims to develop a flexible piezoelectric sensor exhibiting enhanced piezoelectric properties using additive manufacturing techniques that can detect mechanical strains and gas or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by incorporating functional material into the sensing layer. This research explores piezoelectric substrate fabrication through diverse additive manufacturing techniques, including new material development made of polymer/nano-fillers with electrodes that are filled using different printing techniques. Notably, the design of the interdigital transducer (IDT) in the piezoelectric sensor is crucial as it determines the effectiveness of wave propagation, providing invaluable information for desired parameters. Moreover, this research investigates the characteristics and effectiveness of sensors with various IDT layouts placed in different configurations through numerical and experimental analysis. The numerical study involves 3D modeling of sensor design to examine wave characteristics and sensor performance in both time and frequency domains. A well-known PVDF polymer is modeled to ensure the concordance between the theoretical (COM MATLAB algorithm), numerical, and experimental results with surface-mounted and embedded IDTs. Additionally, the developed sensor’s strain detection capability is explored by measuring the change in scattering parameters using a network analyzer. The primary results serve as a foundation, helping to define an approach to predict sensor behavior for specific designs in varying conditions. This, in turn, extends the sensor’s application for multifunctional devices by integrating a nanoparticle sensing layer capable of detecting various concentrations of VOC. Finally, the implementation and feasibility of the developed sensor for wireless sensing and VOC detection are studied.
","abstract_html":"<p>The demand for acoustic wave-based sensors has rapidly increased in the aerospace, chemical, gas, and biological fields due to their versatility in sensing measurands. This study aims to develop a flexible piezoelectric sensor exhibiting enhanced piezoelectric properties using additive manufacturing techniques that can detect mechanical strains and gas or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by incorporating functional material into the sensing layer. This research explores piezoelectric substrate fabrication through diverse additive manufacturing techniques, including new material development made of polymer/nano-fillers with electrodes that are filled using different printing techniques. Notably, the design of the interdigital transducer (IDT) in the piezoelectric sensor is crucial as it determines the effectiveness of wave propagation, providing invaluable information for desired parameters. Moreover, this research investigates the characteristics and effectiveness of sensors with various IDT layouts placed in different configurations through numerical and experimental analysis. The numerical study involves 3D modeling of sensor design to examine wave characteristics and sensor performance in both time and frequency domains. A well-known PVDF polymer is modeled to ensure the concordance between the theoretical (COM MATLAB algorithm), numerical, and experimental results with surface-mounted and embedded IDTs. Additionally, the developed sensor’s strain detection capability is explored by measuring the change in scattering parameters using a network analyzer. The primary results serve as a foundation, helping to define an approach to predict sensor behavior for specific designs in varying conditions. This, in turn, extends the sensor’s application for multifunctional devices by integrating a nanoparticle sensing layer capable of detecting various concentrations of VOC. Finally, the implementation and feasibility of the developed sensor for wireless sensing and VOC detection are studied.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Srinivasaraghavan Govindarajan, Rishikesh"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Dissertation - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:02Z","subjects":["Piezoelectric","Additive manufacturing","Sensor","Strain","VOCs","Nanocomposites","Multifunctional","Structures and Materials"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/840","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Srinivasaraghavan Govindarajan, Rishikesh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Piezoelectric","Additive manufacturing","Sensor","Strain","VOCs","Nanocomposites","Multifunctional","Structures and Materials"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/840"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The demand for acoustic wave-based sensors has rapidly increased in the aerospace, chemical, gas, and biological fields due to their versatility in sensing measurands. This study aims to develop a flexible piezoelectric sensor exhibiting enhanced piezoelectric properties using additive manufacturing techniques that can detect mechanical strains and gas or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by incorporating functional material into the sensing layer. This research explores piezoelectric substrate fabrication through diverse additive manufacturing techniques, including new material development made of polymer/nano-fillers with electrodes that are filled using different printing techniques. Notably, the design of the interdigital transducer (IDT) in the piezoelectric sensor is crucial as it determines the effectiveness of wave propagation, providing invaluable information for desired parameters. Moreover, this research investigates the characteristics and effectiveness of sensors with various IDT layouts placed in different configurations through numerical and experimental analysis. The numerical study involves 3D modeling of sensor design to examine wave characteristics and sensor performance in both time and frequency domains. A well-known PVDF polymer is modeled to ensure the concordance between the theoretical (COM MATLAB algorithm), numerical, and experimental results with surface-mounted and embedded IDTs. Additionally, the developed sensor’s strain detection capability is explored by measuring the change in scattering parameters using a network analyzer. The primary results serve as a foundation, helping to define an approach to predict sensor behavior for specific designs in varying conditions. This, in turn, extends the sensor’s application for multifunctional devices by integrating a nanoparticle sensing layer capable of detecting various concentrations of VOC. Finally, the implementation and feasibility of the developed sensor for wireless sensing and VOC detection are studied.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Additively Manufactured Flexible Piezoelectric Wave-Based Multifunctional Sensor"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Srinivasaraghavan Govindarajan, Rishikesh"],"dc:description.abstract":["The demand for acoustic wave-based sensors has rapidly increased in the aerospace, chemical, gas, and biological fields due to their versatility in sensing measurands. This study aims to develop a flexible piezoelectric sensor exhibiting enhanced piezoelectric properties using additive manufacturing techniques that can detect mechanical strains and gas or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by incorporating functional material into the sensing layer. This research explores piezoelectric substrate fabrication through diverse additive manufacturing techniques, including new material development made of polymer/nano-fillers with electrodes that are filled using different printing techniques. Notably, the design of the interdigital transducer (IDT) in the piezoelectric sensor is crucial as it determines the effectiveness of wave propagation, providing invaluable information for desired parameters. Moreover, this research investigates the characteristics and effectiveness of sensors with various IDT layouts placed in different configurations through numerical and experimental analysis. The numerical study involves 3D modeling of sensor design to examine wave characteristics and sensor performance in both time and frequency domains. A well-known PVDF polymer is modeled to ensure the concordance between the theoretical (COM MATLAB algorithm), numerical, and experimental results with surface-mounted and embedded IDTs. Additionally, the developed sensor’s strain detection capability is explored by measuring the change in scattering parameters using a network analyzer. The primary results serve as a foundation, helping to define an approach to predict sensor behavior for specific designs in varying conditions. This, in turn, extends the sensor’s application for multifunctional devices by integrating a nanoparticle sensing layer capable of detecting various concentrations of VOC. Finally, the implementation and feasibility of the developed sensor for wireless sensing and VOC detection are studied.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/840"],"dc:subject":["Piezoelectric","Additive manufacturing","Sensor","Strain","VOCs","Nanocomposites","Multifunctional","Structures and Materials"],"dc:title":["Additively Manufactured Flexible Piezoelectric Wave-Based Multifunctional Sensor"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:02Z"}