Title of the paper: Functionalized graphene reinforced thermoplastic nanocomposites as strain sensors in structural health monitoring

Authors: Varrla Eswaraiah, Krishnan Balasubramaniam and Sundara Ramaprabhu

University/Institute: Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.

Abstracts: Functionalized graphene–polyvinylidene fluoride (f-G–PVDF) nanocomposite films were synthesized using a simple solvent casting technique. The investigation demonstrates the real time strain response of f-G–PVDF nanocomposites on the macro-scale under tensile loads and the use of this nanocomposite as strain sensor. This is ascribed to the variation of electrical properties of graphene–polymer upon mechanical deformation at the nanoscale.

Links to the paper (link to the journal webpage): http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/jm/c1jm12302e