Fabrication and characterization of nano-active fiber composites as acoustic emission sensors

This paper presents the fabrication of nanometerscale piezoelectric fiber composites and their potential applications as acoustic emission sensors. The piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate nanofibers, with diameters ranging from 50 to 150 nm, were fabricated by an electrospinning process. Polydimethylsiloxane was chosen as the matrix to produce the active fiber composites. The demonstration of electromechanical coupling of the fabricated nano-active fiber composites showed their applications as acoustic emission sensors for nondestructive materials testing, especially for structures with complex shapes because of the enhanced flexibility of the nano-active fiber composites.