TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY -- Electroactive Polymer Fibers for Structural Health Monitoring: LAR-17724-1

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a novel polymer material that can be utilized as a real-time structural health monitoring sensor. The highly durable material is electroactive and generates a signal in response to a mechanical force. It is also highly elastic, which allows for a large range of measurable strain levels. The material is manufactured into micro- and/or nanofibers from polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF, a thermoplastic fluoropolymer that is highly piezoelectric when poled. The material can either be spun directly onto composite panels or can be embedded within the material. Defect detection is captured as the result of the piezoelectric PVDF fibers acting similarly to wires. The fabrication method of the electroactive material is based on a previous NASA Langley invention of an apparatus that is used to electrospin highly aligned polymer fiber material. A description of the fabrication method can be found in the technology opportunity announcement titled Highly Electrospun Fibers and Mats, which is available on NASA Langley Technology Gateway. The finished product exhibits voltage output that is up to 10 times stronger than PZT (lead zirconate titanate), a commonly used piezoelectric sensor. The technology is scalable since PVDF micro- and/or nanofibers have no foreseen limits in length and size, and fiber diameter is tailorable. Potential applications could include impact and delamination sensing for composites and fatigue crack sensing in both metals and composites. NASA is seeking to license this technology commercially. US Patent 8,378,659. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to [email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.nasa.gov/ . These responses are provided to members of NASA Langley’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development “OSACB” for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.