Abstract Oil spillage, due to either direct or indirect accidents, can cause major environmental and economic issues if not detected and remedied immediately. In this study, the unique properties of carbon nanotubes have shown a substantial sensing capability for such a purpose when incorporated into a nanostructured composite material. A high-efficiency self-sensing nanocomposite sensor was fabricated by inserting highly conductive multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into an elastomeric polymer substrate. The microstructure of the nanocomposite sensor was studied using scanning electronic microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The response rate of the sensor was evaluated against different MWCNT concentrations, geometrical thickness and applied strains (causing by stretching). The results indicated that the response rate of the sensor (β) decreased with increasing MWCNT concentration and showed the strongest response when the sensor contained a 1.0 wt % concentration of MWCNTs. Additionally, it was found that the response time of the self-sensing nanocomposite sensors decreased in keeping with decreases in the sensor thickness. Moreover, when the sensor was subjected to strain, while immersed in an oil bath, it was found that the response rate (β) of the unstretched self-sensing nanocomposite sensor was significantly lower than that of the stretched one. The sensors given a 3% applied strain presented a response rate (β) ≈ 7.91 times higher than of the unstretched one. The self-sensing nanocomposite sensor described here shows good potential to be employed for oil leakage detection purposes due to its effective self-damage sensing capability and high sensing efficiency and low power consumption.

中文翻译：

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一种用于漏油检测的自感应多壁碳纳米管纳米复合传感器的制造和测试

摘要 由于直接或间接事故造成的溢油，如果不及时发现和补救，可能会导致重大的环境和经济问题。在这项研究中，碳纳米管的独特性质在结合到纳米结构复合材料中时显示出可用于此目的的显着传感能力。通过将高导电性多壁碳纳米管 (MWCNT) 插入弹性聚合物基板中，制造了一种高效的自感应纳米复合传感器。使用扫描电子显微镜和拉曼光谱研究了纳米复合材料传感器的微观结构。传感器的响应速率针对不同的 MWCNT 浓度、几何厚度和施加的应变（由拉伸引起）进行了评估。结果表明，传感器的响应率（β）随着 MWCNT 浓度的增加而降低，并且当传感器含有 1.0 wt % 浓度的 MWCNT 时显示出最强的响应。此外，发现自传感纳米复合材料传感器的响应时间随着传感器厚度的减小而减小。此外，当传感器受到应变时，浸入油浴中，发现未拉伸的自传感纳米复合传感器的响应速率（β）明显低于拉伸的传感器。施加 3% 应变的传感器的响应率 (β) ≈ 7.91 倍于未拉伸的传感器。