Printed Electronics for Multi-functional Carbon Fiber Composites

Extrusion printing is a contactless nozzle-based digital printing method used to print stretchable and flexible circuit elements. Printing electronics on textiles integrates the enhanced functionality of electrical elements with the physical properties of textiles. Extrusion printing on textiles faces challenges that are overcome in this thesis. Extrusion printing is used to print electrical contacts directly on carbon fiber weaves. This can be integrated into structural carbon fiber composites manufactured with traditional methods. by exploiting the thermal and electrical conductivity of carbon fiber, two carbon fiber-based devices are fabricated, a heater and a damage sensor. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) suffer from ice accumulation on wings, and commercial solutions for de-icing are limited. The proposed heater can be integrated into UAV wings for de-icing. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) aims to detect damage in structures such as cracks and holes using sensors. The proposed damage sensor detects holes in structures for SHM.