Flexible Interdigital Sensor for Nondestructive Detecting Wear and Thickness of Tire Tread

Abstract

Abstract A novel type of interdigital sensor that has been introduced in this paper can non-destructively detect the thickness of insulating materials, e.g. tire. The sensor was manufactured by jet printing technology with high efficiency. The function of the developed sensor is based on the hindering effect on the transmission of electromagnetic signals. The thickness of the insulating materials can be therefore obtained by monitoring the degree of signal reflection through transmission. For optimization, sensors made with three recipes have been experimentally tested. It is concluded that the sensor with double layers’ structure possesses the optimal performances. Practically, the application of the developed sensor in detecting the wear of tire tread has been carried out.