Strain is a crucial assessment parameter in structural health monitoring systems. Microstrip sensors have been one of the new types of sensors used to measure this parameter in recent years. So far, the strain directionality of these sensors and the methods of miniaturization have been studied. This article proposes the use of a single cell metamaterial as a resonator of the microstrip sensor excited through the microstrip line. The proposed solution allowed for significant miniaturization of the microstrip sensor, with just a slight decrease in sensitivity. The proposed sensor can be used to measure local deformation values and in places with a small access area. The presented sensor was validated using numerical and experimental methods. In addition, it was compared with a reference (rectangular geometry) microstrip sensor.
Keywords: metamaterial; metasurface; single cell; split ring resonator (SRR); strain sensor; structural health monitoring (SHM).