Impact of Millimeter-Size Silicon Microchips on the Mechanical Properties of Polymer Samples Tested under Flexural Bending, Long-Term Creep, and Impact Conditions

Abstract

One way to continuously monitor the whole water distribution system is to equip pipes with many small sensors. If these sensors are to be integrated within the pipe walls, it is important to assess their impact on the structural integrity of the pipes, but embedding pipes with these microchips for testing would allow limited control of the position and orientation of the microchips. Therefore, microchips of a few millimeters in size and different shapes were embedded within small-scale polyethylene samples. Pipes are subject to a range of different stresses during their lifetime including hoop, bending, and potentially local impact stresses, and long-term creep effects. This paper focuses on the bending, flexural creep, and impact stresses, with some examples from the tensile tests also presented. The key findings are that there is little effect of the microchips on the 50-year flexural moduli and the short-term flexural properties of the polymer, although there was a significant improvement in the toughness and a reduction in the tensile strength.