The recent work of doctoral student Rouhollah Farahani of the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics (LM2), supervised by Professors Daniel Therriault and Martin Lévesque, in collaboration with the team led by professor My Ali El Khakani of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Varennes, demonstrated the manufacturing of 2D and 3D strain sensors based on a mix of polymer and carbon nanotubes.

Using a programmed robotic process, the structures submitted showed a change in electrical resistivity when they were strained. The sensors also showed great sensitivity to strain compared to current technologies.

The technology developed at LM2 makes it possible to create sensors that virtually adapt to all geometries as well as being able to adjust the sensitivity for a given application. For example, complex 3D microstructures made using this approach could be coated in active organic materials to make the separation or detection of biomolecules more efficient compared current planar geometry equipment. 

Heartiest congratulations to the research team!

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