On Debris Reinforced-PVDF, Composite-Based 3D Printed Sensors for Restoration of Heritage Building

Some studies in the recent past have outlined the use of 3D-printed thermoplastic composite-based innovative strips with the capability of self-expansion and contraction as a snug fit-based solution for addressing crack propagation in heritage structures. But hitherto little has been reported on the use of debris-reinforced polyvinyl difluoride (PVDF) composite as a repair/maintenance solution for such heritage structures followed by health monitoring of repaired cracks as the Internet of things based solution in Industry Sports Medicine band with Bluetooth application. The debris-reinforced PVDF matrix composite has an inbuilt advantage of compatibility with heritage structures being collected from the same site and may be tuned as a sensor to ascertain crack propagation due to weathering effects, seismic movements, etc. In this study, three infill patterns available in commercial open-source software have been used as meta-structures namely: tri-hexagonal, triangle, and octet for the selected composition/proportion, and the mechanical, sensing, and morphological properties of the functional prototype were investigated. The results of the study outlined that the tri-hexagonal meta-structure has acceptable mechanical, piezoelectric, thermal, and sensing capabilities for the health monitoring of repaired cracks.