Everyone has heard the saying: “If these walls could talk.”  Two researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow want to get walls, bridges, wind turbines, and other large structures talking with a coat of smart paint and nanotechnology. But this set of researchers aren’t interested in the secrets of humans - they want the surfaces of buildings to talk to prevent accidents.

The sprayable smart paint was developed by Dr. Mohamed Saafi, of the University’s Department of Civil Engineering, and David McGahon. It’s environmentally-friendly because it’s made from a recycled waste product called fly ash and the magical sounding “highly-aligned carbon nanotubes.” 

Fly ash is a dust produced by the burning of finely ground coal in a burner to generate electricity at a plant. It is made primarily of silica and is removed from the plant’s exhaust to be re-used in a variety of ways but is commonly used as “Raw material in concrete products and grout” or “Feed stock in the production of cement.” For that reason, it’s used in the smart paint to create a sturdy, weather-resistant product.

When the smart paint is applied to a structure it can detect microscopic structural damage faster than a costly and usually time-consuming visual inspection.  Dr Saafi explains how the paint “talks”: "The process of monitoring involves in effect a wireless sensor network. The paint is interfaced with wireless communication nodes with power harvesting and warning capability to remotely detect any unseen damage such as micro-cracks in a wind turbine concrete foundation.”

Wind turbines are the example used in the synapsis but they think the paint can be used on any structure with the surface area or need for precise safety monitoring. The prototype has been successful so far and the team hopes this will warrant more tests to be scheduled

“The development of this smart paint technology could have far-reaching implications for the way we monitor the safety of large structures all over the world”, said Dr. Saafi,  “There are no limitations as to where it could be used and the low-cost nature gives it a significant advantage over the current options available in the industry. The process of producing and applying the paint also gives it an advantage as no expertise is required and monitoring itself is straightforward.”

Smart paint could be used to not only detect wear and tear but also damage to a building after a tornado or earthquake to assist emergency personnel in triage. Home decorators can work wonders with a bucket of paint in a home - imagine what could be done with smart paint.