A method to detect the level and direction of mechanical forces with the aid of load-induced martensitic phase transformation

Information on the mechanical load which has been applied on a component during its lifecycle is becoming more and more interesting in order to assist the development of new generations of lightweight components. To collect this information from a large number of components in the field, cost-effective sensor techniques are required. The idea of the research presented in this paper is to qualify the base material of a component itself as a sensor. Load-induced changes in the microstructure of metastable austenitic sheet metals at the basis for this idea. Capabilities of increasing the sensitivity related to load-induced martensite phase transformations with the aid of metal forming operations as well as an approach to detect the direction of mechanical forces using embossed sensor fields are presented. The development of sensor fields based on FE-simulation as well as the results of experimental tests are discussed.