Local strain sensing methods are developed for damage detection in structural materials, and their validities are demonstrated. As strain sensors, piezoelectric polymers were coated on the surfaces of aluminum sheets. Local strains in the ten sile tested aluminum sheets were measured by an operational amplifier circuit with a scanning probe, and then observed using the voltage contrast technique in a scanning electron microscope. The preliminary results indicate that these methods using piezoelectric polymers are sensitive and useful for detection and measurement of local static strains in structural materials. © 1993, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.