Integrated strain gauge printing in a CFRP structure

Our approach is to integrate printed strain gauges into a structure of laminated carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). This can provide minimizing disturbances caused by an additional sensor weight. Another point is to reduce the occurrence of pre-damage, as a printed structure is integrated directly into the CFRP. Due to the printing, no additional masses are applied to the CFRP by cables. To this end, the boundary conditions for the print are first explained. Subsequently, the strain gages were printed. For this purpose, studies were carried out regarding the orientation of the strain gage printing direction, the influence of repeated printing, the overlapping during printing and the subsequent lamination in CFRP plates. The sensors are to be used in the structure of the CFRP plate in a machine tool.