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Feasibility of Embedded Distributed Optical Fibre Sensors in Thermoplastic Composite Braided Beam Structure

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Abstract

In this paper, consolidation monitoring and structural health monitoring (SHM) of a braided thermoplastic composite beam was performed using a distributed optical fibre sensor (DOFS). The DOFS was manually embedded into the braided preform before melt processing. The real-time strain and temperature data obtained during consolidation and cooling segments were correlated with phase transitions in the thermoplastic matrix. Post consolidation, the quality of the embedded DOFS was investigated using a micro-CT to reveal defects such as waviness and misorientation due to the crude nature of the adopted embedding technique. The manufactured beam was then subjected to repeated loading-unloading cycles in a flexure test. The strain developments along the embedded optical fibre length were comparable with the measurements from Digital Image Correlation (DIC), and further correlated with the post damage observations. Despite the crude method of embedding the optical fibre, the monitored data was useful for consolidation monitoring as well as SHM. This proved that DOFS could be embedded into composite structures without adding cost, time and complexity thus making them feasible for industrial applications.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to acknowledge the support of the Catapult funding’s (Grant reference: 160080 CORE HVMC(WMG)) to Dr Yiding Liu and Lab X-ray 659 CT (Grant reference: EP/T02593X/1) from EPSRC National Research Facility to Prof Mark Williams, which made the completion of this project possible. Authors also appreciate the support of LUNA and technical suggestions of Mr Ian Shannan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. WMG, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK

    Yiding Liu, Anubhav Singh, Yifei Yu, Remy Guillaume & Darren J. Hughes

  2. School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK

    Yiding Liu

  3. Composite Braiding Limited, DE24 9FU, Derby, UK

    Alastair E. Barnett & Steve K. Barbour

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  1. Yiding Liu
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  2. Anubhav Singh
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Correspondence to Yiding Liu.

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Liu, Y., Singh, A., Yu, Y. et al. Feasibility of Embedded Distributed Optical Fibre Sensors in Thermoplastic Composite Braided Beam Structure. Appl Compos Mater 29, 2223–2243 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-022-10053-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-022-10053-0

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