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Structural Electronics 2015-2025

Fig. 1.1

Some future applications of structural electronics

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Structural Electronics 2015-2025

1.4.

Primary benefits
The benefits and challenges of structural electronics are compared below.

Table 1.2 Benefits and challenges of structural electronics)

Benefits
Save space.

Save weight. Fiat believes that cars, with about half their
weight in bodywork and half in circuits and comfort
facilities could save about 20% in weight by merging some
of these into structural electronics. For a pure electric car
that means a precious increase in range of over 20% and
it does not stop there because new circuits such as
telematics and vibration harvesting can also be designed
into the structure saving even more weight.
Pervasive wide area electronics such as photovoltaics
over the whole airframe of an aircraft and sensing in
places previously inaccessible.
Systemic change such as providing a bridge or an aircraft
with a nervous system mimicking that in the human body.
Making large components vanish. For example,
supporting huge areas of photovoltaics has previously
been expensive and troublesome. The weakness of
supercapacitors that they have considerable weight and
size per unit of energy stored is overcome. This means
that they can replace more batteries because their other
properties are greatly superior such as life, reliability, fast
charge-discharge, ability to be fully discharged for safe
transit and in an accident. Harvesting small vibration over
a large area becomes feasible.
Replacing expensive, delicate, bulky and unreliable
components. For example, a typical car employs around
50 tactile switches and four rotary switches, both being
relatively unreliable. For example, the overhead console
of a car with switches, lighting etc. can be made much
thinner, shaped and solid state with a saving of up to 40%
in cost, weight and space and potentially an increase in
reliability, including better waterproofing.

New functionality

Potentially it can reduce up-front cost

Challenges
For most of the benefits, SE needs to be designed
into a structure such as a bus or a train when it is
at the early conceptual stage. Often impracticable
or too expensive as retrofit
Thin film, printed and other flexible forms of
electronics are less efficient than bulk initially
making it impracticable or too expensive to add
more to compensate, for example with
photovoltaics, supercapacitors or lithium-ion
batteries.

Photovoltaics are much less efficient.

Expense
Supercapacitors much less efficient when in the
new format.

Alternatives for conventional switches are not

usually haptic (you feel what you do) and there
can be false use e.g. conductive decorative
features on the plastic layers can interfere
electrically and switches can be activated
accidentally from too far away in some early
designs.
Devices such as batteries that swell and shrink in
use are difficult to contain in a structural material
and when, after their relatively short life, they fail
and need replacement, the whole structure will
need to be replaced, probably uneconomically
and costing much time and effort.
Moving parts such as electric traction motors,
internal combustion engines, fuel cells and
pumped refrigeration are usually impossible in SE.
First execution may be expensive

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Source: IDTechEx

Structural Electronics 2015-2025

Fig. 1.6

Market forecast by component type for 2014-2024 in US $ billions, for printed and potentially
printed electronics including organic, inorganic and composites

80
Conductors (ink only) ^
Sensors`
70

Photovoltaics #
Battery "

60

Electroluminescent *

US$ Billion

Electrochromic *
50

Electrophoretic/E-wetting/BiStable LCD *
OLED light
OLED display ~

40

Logic/memory

30

20

10

0
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Excludes TFT backplanes for displays

^ Excludes ESD/RF shielding and membrane circuits and excludes conductive ink used in other applications in this table
* Front plane only
~ OLED modules (includes Thin Film Transistor TFT drive circuit and OLED front plane), glass and flex versions
# Includes OPV and DSSC
` Blood glucose test strips, ECG sensors etc. Value of sensors
Printed, thin film lithium, curved lithium, flexible supercapacitor
Source: IDTechEx

IDTechEx Ltd

14

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Structural Electronics 2015-2025

Table 1.9 IDTechEx WSN forecast 2014-2024 with RTLS for comparison

Meter reading nodes

million*
Unit price $
Total $M
Other nodes million
Unit price $
Total $M
Grand total node value $M
WSN systems and software
excluding nodes $M
Total WSN market $M
RTLS market $M

2014
90

2015
100

2016
103

2017
107

2018
115

2019
120

2020
125

2021
135

2022
150

2023
154.5

2024
163

7.8
702
5
63
315
1017
12

7.5
750
7
52
364
1114
20

6.8
700
8.2
50
410
1110
50

6.4
685
9
46
414
1099
100

5.9
679
12
35
420
1099
125

5.6
672
18
25
450
1122
150

5.3
663
25
20
500
1163
200

4.9
662
60
19
1140
1802
250

4.6
690
80
18
1440
2130
300

4.27
660
92.4
11.4
1053
1713
340

3.94
642
110.2
7.4
815
1458
385

1029
943

1134
1050

1160
1100

1199
1150

1224
1250

1272
1300

1363
1400

2052
1600

2430
1800

2053
1890

1843
2030

* Same figure applies to chipsets

Source: IDTechEx

Fig. 1.7

Total WSN market $M

Source: IDTechEx

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15

Structural Electronics 2015-2025

This is an extract from a 6-page table entitled Composites to electronic composites: objectives,
achievements, future prospects 1940-2030
Year

2030

Market
drivers

New matrices

Civil
engineering

The
unforeseen
serious
corrosion of
reinforced and
prestressed
structures is
causing grave
concern. They
were
constructed on
the
assumption
that they
would require
minimal
maintenance.
The
unbudgeted
remedial work
now required
may require
the wholesale
replacement of
some
structures and
innovative
technologies
retrofitted to
others with
sensing to
ensure there
are no
surprises in
future.
Advanced
composites
being high
strength and
potentially
greater
durability are
of great
interest. Labor
cost,
construction
safety,
reducing
pollution and
energy
consumption
are issues
where smart
construction
composites
can greatly
assist.

In civil engineering, composite materials typically

consist of a resin as a continuous matrix,
surrounded by a fibrous supporting structure.
The reinforcement has high strength and stiffness
while the matrix binds the fibers together,
allowing stress to be conferred from one fiber to
another and producing a consolidated structure.
Carbon fiber reinforced concrete conducts
electricity e.g. lightning and it can change its
electrical conductivity in response to stress, thus
constituting an inherent wide area sensing
system. The high density coupled to a choice of
fibers ranging from stainless steel to chopped
carbon and Kevlar applied under high pressure
confers superlative properties tailored to
purpose.
Extensive use of many forms of energy harvesting
incorporated in load-bearing structures and
smart skin.

Lower cost,
longer
endurance
missions
through lighter
weight and

Multi-mode energy harvesting as load bearing and smart skin

structural electronics. Biomimetic structures Extensive use of
transparent and stretchable electronics
In Mold Electronics and other forms of structural electronics are
multi-mode. Self-healing polymers in use in structural electronics.
Bioprinting in 3D is widely in production.

Aerospace

New
fillers

Unidirectional
Fiber content
advanced
% by weight
composite
materials
Glass Fiber
50-80
Reinforced
Plastic GFRP
glass fiber/
polyester
laminate
Carbon Fiber
65-75
Reinforced
Plastic CFRP
carbon/epoxy
laminate
Aramid Fiber
60-70
Reinforced
Plastic AFRP
aramid/epoxy
laminate
Source P Head G Maunsell & Partners

Integrated
electronics or
electrics

Examples
Application

Initially, sensor
networks are
simple
conventional
sensors buried
in the mix.
Earthquake
resistance is
addressed by
advanced
composites in
new structural
forms. For
example, the
Japanese are
spinning carbon
fiber around
old bridge
supports.
Retrofitting
advanced
composite skins
to reinforced
concrete
structures
considerably
increases their
ductility in
severe
earthquakes

New and
existing dams,
bridges,
highways and
buildings.

Company
Civil
engineers

Density kg/m3

Longitudinal
tensile
modulus GPa

Tensile
Strength MPa

1600-2000

20-55

400-1800

1600-1900

120-250

1200-2250

1050-1250

40-125

1000-1800

Unmanned
and manned
aircraft
including new
air taxis,
personal

Leading
aerospace
companies

67

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Structural Electronics 2015-2025

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