Development of bendable strain sensor with embedded microchannels using 3D printing

This paper describes the design, fabrication and characterization of a microchannel-based strain sensor using flexible material. The work explores the use of additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, to fabricate the sensor in easy and cost-effective way. It is shown that 3D printing can print complex designs with ease and fabricate objects with embedded features. Microchannels with dimension of 500 mu m diameter are printed within the sensor structure and filled with conductive silver nanoparticle ink. The fabricated device is checked for printability and design valve adherence using optical microscope and micro-CT. The printed sensor is capable of measuring normal (orthogonal to channels) and in-plane (parallel to channels) tensile forces and is tested using a custom-built test rig. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.