Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers in structural health monitoring

While not a result of ALCEMIST, Jan's latest paper, together with chemist Rijeesh Kizhakidathazath and concrete engineers Tarik Čamo and Danièle Waldmann-Diederich, on using CLCEs in structural health monitoring is strongly related to the project. The paper demonstrates how the same mechanochromic response of CLCEs that will be used in strain sensing fibers in ALCEMIST can be used to detect and monitor cracks in concrete. By painting the CLCE precursor onto the object of interest, a crack developing in it is immediately revealed—much earlier than when it could be seen by the naked eye—through a local color change over the crack. This can have a great impact on detecting structural problems in bridges and other infrastructure before they fail, thus avoiding costly repairs and possibly saving lives. Read the paper that was published (open access) in the journal Structural Health Monitoring here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14759217241296831

Tags: CLCEs