SMARTFIBER: enabling cost-effective, miniaturized structural health-monitoring of composite structures

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Multi-axial strain monitoring of fibre reinforced thermosetting plastics using embedded highly birefringent optical fibre Bragg sensors

There is a growing interest in the use of fibre reinforced plastics (FRPs) as high-grade construction material for variouw applications that need to be lightweight, yet strong in sometimes harsh loading conditions. Despite the growing popularity of structural composite materials, one has to realize that their mechanical behaviour is significantly different compared to conventional isotropic construction materials. Strain monitoring of an in-service structure should greatly enhance the insight and confidence in the (long-term) behaviour of high performance composite structures. Structural health monitoring necessitates the possibility of measuring multi-axials strain fields. High birefringent optical fibres (HiBi-fibres) with Bragg grating can become a solution in this matter. Designing a multi-axial strain sensor based on optical FBGs should meet several basic requirements which are discussed in this dissertation

A finite element model capable of predicting resin pockets for arbitrary inclusions in composite laminates

This work presents the progress in the development of a finite element model capable of predicting resin pockets occurring in composite structures with embedded sensors. The F.E.- model is built using standard tools in ABAQUS software, avoiding the need of specialized coding. Both progresses in material characterization as well as finite element modeling are shown. The model will eventually be used to optimize the shape of an embedded optical fibre interrogator used within the FP7 ‘SmartFiber’ projec

Flexible thin polymer waveguide Bragg grating sensor foils for strain sensing

This paper demonstrates that epoxy-based single mode polymer waveguides with Bragg gratings can be realized in very thin (down to 50 micron) polymer foils which are suitable for strain sensing when integrated inside glass fiber reinforced polymer composite materials. The single mode waveguides were fabricated using laser direct-write lithography and the gratings were realized using nanoimprint lithography. These steps were performed on a temporary rigid carrier substrate and afterwards the functional layers were released yielding the thin, flexible sensor foils which can be laser-cut to the required dimensions. The Bragg grating-based polymer waveguide sensor foils were characterized before and after embedding into the composite. As expected, there was a blue shift in the reflection spectrum because of residual strain due to the embedding process. However, the quality of the signal did not degrade after embedding, both for 50 and 100 micron thick sensor foils. Finally, the sensitivity to strain of the embedded sensors was determined using a tensile test and found to be about 1 pm / microstrain

Optical fiber coating optimization tool for composite embedded health monitoring purposes through a novel transfer matrix method

This work presents a new methodology based on finite element analysis, allowing the user to quickly optimize the coating thickness for any type of load case within any type of lay-up (given certain boundary conditions on minimum layer thickness). The method finds the same optimal values as Dasgupta for axial loads and Hadjiprocopiou for transverse loads

Improved accuracy in the determination of flexural rigidity of textile fabrics by the Peirce cantilever test (ASTM D1388)

Within the field of composite manufacturing simulations, it is well known that the bending behavior of fabrics and prepregs has a significant influence on the drapeability and final geometry of a composite part. Due to sliding between reinforcements within a fabric, the bending properties cannot be determined from in-plane properties and a separate test is required. The Peirce cantilever test represents a popular way of determining the flexural rigidity for these materials, and is the preferred method in the ASTM D1388 standard. This work illustrates the severe inaccuracies (up to 72% error) in the current ASTM D1388 standard as well as the original formulation by Peirce, caused by ignoring higher-order effects. A modified approach accounting for higher-order effects and yielding significantly improved accuracy is presented. The method is validated using finite element simulations and experimental testing. Since no independent tests other than the ASTM D1388 standard are available to determine the bending stiffness of fabric materials, experimental validation is performed on an isotropic, homogeneous Upilex-50S foil for which the flexural rigidity and tensile stiffness are related. The flexural rigidity and elastic modulus are determined through both the cantilever test (ASTM D1388) and tensile testing. The results show that the proposed method measures an elastic modulus close to that determined through tensile testing (within 1%), while both the Peirce formulation (+18%) and ASTM standard (+72%) over-estimate the elastic modulus. The proposed methodology allows for a more accurate determination of flexural rigidity, and enables the more accurate simulation of composite forming processes