Nature-Inspired Dual-Sensor Thread for Independent Measurement of Internal Temperature and Strain in Cast Parts or Fabrics

In this contribution, we present the concept for a dual-sensor thread that was specifically devised for the independent measurement of strain and temperature inside a hosting structure. Though the utilization of coated and, thus, electrically conductive threads for strain and, if additionally functionalized, electrochemical sensing has been examined in various applications so far, our approach is novel in the sense that both sensing capabilities, i.e., sensing for strain and temperature, are combined in a single thread that can easily be integrated into different objects such as various kinds of fabrics, ropes and cables, injection molded parts, and flexible polymer (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane) structures, just to name a few. The integrated sensor thread allows the measurement of temperature at a predefined position inside the hosting substrate and the assessment of overall strain condition at the same time, with minimum technological and measuring effort as well as cost for fabrication.