Instructors: Luca Valentini, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Perugia, Antonella D'Alessandro, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Andrea Meoni, Ph.D. Assistant Professor

(brochure)

Course description:

University of Perugia

Period: September 2026

This course is a broad introduction to the principles of functioning of functional nanomaterials, with their operation in a variety of sensor architectures and modalities, including pressure, strain, thermal, optical and bioelectric. Illustrative applications in practical engineering problems, such as monitoring civil engineering structural components using smart concretes and smart bricks will be discussed. Moreover, fundamentals of 3d printing of composites, including the characterization of the material, are introduced. Students are required to complete a laboratory tests, or simulations, and a final project consists on the proposal of a smart monitoring network for a civil engineering problem using smart materials.

Course scheduling (3 CFU):

09/07, 9:00 - 13:00 Room 16

Self-monitoring nanomaterials: principles of functioning. Nanomaterials for energy harvesting and self-healing (4 hours) Luca Valentini

09/08, 9:00 – 13:00 Room 16

3D printing and integration methods of nanomaterials in embedded sensing devices. (4 hours) Luca Valentini 

09/09, 8:30 – 13:30 Room 16

Self-sensing construction materials for structural engineering applications. Piezoresistive materials and cement composites (5 hours) Antonella D’Alessandro 

09/10, 8:30 – 11:30 Room 16

Innovative cementitious smart composites and elements Smart pavements for road monitoring and WIM. Smart structural and environmental monitoring of structures. (3 hours) Antonella D’Alessandro 

09/10, 11:30 – 13:30 Room 16

Applications of Smart Materials. Types of monitoring setups. From laboratory experimentation to real scale. Laboratory. (2 hours) Andrea Meoni

Virtual room [link]

Short Bio:

Antonella D’Alessandro:

Antonella D'Alessandro is Associate Professor of Structural Design at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of University of Perugia which she currently teaches Structural Design, Smart Materials for Construction Engineering, Rehabilitation of structures. Her main expertise is in the development and characterization of innovative multifunctional and sustainable structural materials (fiber-reinforced, self-sensing, recycled, highly efficient, 3D printed) and the monitoring of the integrity of new and existing buildings, proved by the publication of more than 170 papers, and the participation of several national and international projects.

Andrea Meoni:

Dr. Andrea Meoni is a Senior Postdoc at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Perugia. Since his Master’s degree, Dr. Meoni has been conducting research activities on smart cement-based materials for strain monitoring and crack detection in RC constructions. Then, during his PhD, he started experimenting with the development of smart bricks, which are piezoresistive brick-like sensors for SHM of masonry constructions, and on the development of numerical models, discretized according to the finite element method, to integrate SHM systems. To date, his research focuses on developing innovative approaches for structural health monitoring of reinforced concrete and masonry structures through the use of smart construction materials.