Impact Damage Detection of a Glass Fabric Composite Using Carbon Fiber Sensors with Regard to Mechanical Loading

Abstract

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of composite structures leads to greater safety during operation and reduces the cost of regular inspections. Impact damage detection is an important SHM task. Since impact damage can significantly reduce the lifetime of composite structures, sensors for impact damage are of great interest. Carbon Fiber Sensors (CFSs) can be used to detect composite damage. CFSs are lightweight and compact, and they can be integrated during the manufacturing process. In our study, CFSs were manufactured from three types of carbon fiber tows and were integrated into different layers of the lay-up in order to investigate the influence on impact damage detection. The effect of mechanical loading and temperature change on the measured electrical resistance was investigated during cyclic flexural tests. It was revealed that, it is possible to distinguish between changes in measured signals due to impact and due mechanical loading. The change in the measured electrical signal caused by temperature can be eliminated. CFSs can be used for impact damage detection of a glass fabric composite. A combination of thermography and CFSs as an active heating element also provides good results in the field of impact damage detection.