Flexible, All-Polyimide Sensing Skin for Cryogenic Engineering

Lang Yin; Fan Zhang; Jiayang Li; Dawei Liu; Huamin Yu; Shuchuan Li; Huinan Zhang; Yaning Zheng; Zhangyu Xu; Mengfei Yin; Xuejun Liu; Hanqing Liu; Yuxin Guo; Jingjing Ji; Peng Qiao; Guoshuai Li; YongAn Huang

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.016

Engineering ›› :202604016 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.016

research-article

Flexible, All-Polyimide Sensing Skin for Cryogenic Engineering

Lang Yin ^a^,^b^,^c
, Fan Zhang ^a^,^b^,^c^,^*
, Jiayang Li ^a^,^b^,^c
, Dawei Liu ^d
, Huamin Yu ^a^,^b^,^c
, Shuchuan Li ^a^,^b^,^c
, Huinan Zhang ^a^,^b^,^c
, Yaning Zheng ^a^,^b^,^c
, Zhangyu Xu ^a^,^b^,^c
, Mengfei Yin ^a^,^b^,^c
, Xuejun Liu ^a^,^b^,^c
, Hanqing Liu ^a^,^b^,^c
, Yuxin Guo ^a^,^b^,^c
, Jingjing Ji ^a^,^b^,^c
, Peng Qiao ^d
, Guoshuai Li ^d^,^*
, YongAn Huang ^a^,^b^,^c^,^*

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Abstract

Reliable pressure measurement represents a cornerstone of cryogenic engineering, spanning fields from superconducting magnets and deep-space exploration to cryogenic wind tunnels. However, acquiring accurate in situ data in these extreme low-temperature environments remains a formidable challenge, as conventional sensors typically face material embrittlement, seal failure, and performance degradation. Herein, an all-polyimide (PI) intelligent flexible sensing skin (iFlexSense) tailored for pressure monitoring under extreme environmental conditions was proposed. A novel droplet- encapsulation architecture was designed to enhance sensor sensitivity in the high-pressure working range while preserving its response characteristics in the low-pressure working range. This architecture was implemented via a PI electrospray approach, which also ensured robust interlayer adhesion, thereby maintaining structural and hermetic integrity at temperatures down to −196 °C. Additionally, this flexible skin was successfully validated in cryogenic wind tunnels across a broad operational envelope ( 𝑇₀ = 110–300 K, 𝑃 ₀ = 115–450 kPa, Ma = 0.6–1.3, where T₀ is the total temperature, P0 is the total pressure, and Ma is the Mach number). Results demonstrated excellent fidelity with data from a standard pressure scanner. The sensing skin effectively captured nuanced aerodynamic phenomena, including Reynolds number effects and shock wave evolution. Collectively, the present work establishes the iFlexSense as a robust, versatile tool for high-fidelity pressure mapping in demanding cryogenic engineering applications.

Keywords

Flexible electronics / Cryogenic wind tunnel / Pressure sensing skin / Aerodynamic measurement / Cryogenic engineering

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Lang Yin, Fan Zhang, Jiayang Li, Dawei Liu, Huamin Yu, Shuchuan Li, Huinan Zhang, Yaning Zheng, Zhangyu Xu, Mengfei Yin, Xuejun Liu, Hanqing Liu, Yuxin Guo, Jingjing Ji, Peng Qiao, Guoshuai Li, YongAn Huang. Flexible, All-Polyimide Sensing Skin for Cryogenic Engineering. Engineering 202604016 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.016

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