New material records mechanical stress through luminescence

Structural Health Diagnosis combined with IoT technology. Credit: Tomoki Uchiyama, Chao-Nan Xu et al.

Identifying crumbling infrastructure is sometimes as difficult as rectifying it. Yet, this process has been made easier thanks to an innovative new material developed by Tohoku University researchers. Details of the findings were published in the journal Applied Physics Letters on April 25, 2024.

The material responds to mechanical stimuli by recording stress history through a luminescent effect called an afterglow. This information is stored for a long time, and by applying the material to the surfaces of structures, researchers can observe changes in the afterglow to determine the amount of stress the material has experienced.

“What makes our material truly innovative is that it operates without a power supply, complex equipment, or on-site observation and is easily combined with IoT technology,” points out Tohoku University professor and corresponding author of the study, Chao-Nan Xu.

In Japan, aging infrastructure has become a significant problem, leading to an increased demand for new diagnostic technologies that prevent accidents and/or extend the life of structures.

Mechanoluminescent materials exhibit luminescence when mechanically stimulated, and technologies such as crack detection and stress visualization have been developed by applying this material to the surface of structures. But the luminescence can only be observed at the moment of mechanical stimulation, and information about past mechanical stimuli cannot be retrieved.

Newly developed material logs and stores stress information of infrastructure
This study represents the stress recording (MR) function of multi-piezo mechanoluminescent material Li0.12Na0.88NbO3 through afterglow for the first time. Unlike traditional ML materials that solely enable real-time measurement of mechanical information, the novel MR capability is expected to be highly valuable for capturing the historical distribution of stress. Credit: Tomoki Uchiyama, Chao-Nan Xu et al.

Researchers have explored various materials capable of recording past mechanical loading histories. These materials typically combine stress-luminescent materials with photosensitive materials, creating a system where the material emits light in response to mechanical stress, and this light can be preserved and later analyzed to reconstruct the stress history.

However, these materials face several challenges: complex layering structures, dark reactions, and long-term recording performance. Additionally, while certain fluorophores reveal past loading history when subjected to heat, the application has been limited to materials capable of withstanding high temperatures.

Xu and her colleagues discovered a simple and environmentally friendly method to record stress using Pr-doped Li0.12Na0.88NbO3 (LNNO). This LNNO had a mechanical recording functionality, meaning it could retrieve even past stress events.

To retrieve past stress information, LNNO is applied as a coating on the surface of an object and then irradiated with a flashlight. The afterglow produced by LNNO can be measured using cameras or light sensors.

The study demonstrated that the afterglow image matches quantitatively with the results obtained through finite element method analysis. Additionally, the research confirmed that LNNO retains this stress information even after a period of five months.

“Our findings are expected to alleviate the shortage of manpower in structural diagnosis, and lower costs,” adds Xu.

More information:
Tomoki Uchiyama et al, Direct recording and reading of mechanical force by afterglow evaluation of multi-piezo mechanoluminescent material Li0.12Na0.88NbO3 on well-designed morphotropic phase boundary, Applied Physics Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1063/5.0209065

Provided by
Tohoku University


Citation:
New material records mechanical stress through luminescence (2024, June 6)
retrieved 7 June 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-material-mechanical-stress-luminescence.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Secular Times is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – seculartimes.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a Comment