Gabriele Chiesura

Dynamic Strain Measurements on Automotive and Aeronautic Composite Components by Means of Embedded Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors.

The measurement of the internal deformations occurring in real-life composite components is a very challenging task, especially for those components that are rather difficult to access. Optical fiber sensors can overcome such a problem, since they can be embedded in the composite materials and serve as in situ sensors. In this article, embedded optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are used to analyze the vibration characteristics of two real-life composite components. The first component is a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer automotive control arm; the second is a glass fiber-reinforced polymer aeronautic hinge arm. The modal parameters of both components were estimated by processing the FBG signals with two interrogation techniques: the maximum detection and fast phase correlation algorithms were employed for the demodulation of the FBG signals; the Peak-Picking and PolyMax techniques were instead used for the parameter estimation. To validate the FBG outcomes, reference measurements were performed by means of a laser Doppler vibrometer. The analysis of the results showed that the FBG sensing capabilities were enhanced when the recently-introduced fast phase correlation algorithm was combined with the state-of-the-art PolyMax estimator curve fitting method. In this case, the FBGs provided the most accurate results, i.e., it was possible to fully characterize the vibration behavior of both composite components. When using more traditional interrogation algorithms (maximum detection) and modal parameter estimation techniques (Peak-Picking), some of the modes were not successfully identified.

Highly Sensitive Waveguide Bragg Grating Temperature Sensor Using Hybrid Polymers

A waveguide Bragg grating temperature sensor implemented using a hybrid inorganic-organic material (Ormocer) with a 25-times higher temperature sensitivity than a typical silica fiber is presented. The sensor consists of second order gratings (1010-nm pitch) in 5 μm × 5 μm waveguides fabricated on a planar substrate using the replication-based methods. The gratings were imprinted in the under-cladding layer, and the waveguide cores were patterned on top by capillary filling of microchannels, which were defined in a transparent and flexible mold. The somewhat larger, slightly multimode waveguides facilitate pigtailing with an optical fiber but lead to three reflection peaks corresponding to the different excited waveguide modes. The peak at the longest wavelength (Bragg wavelength at 1539 nm, corresponding to the fundamental mode) was tracked during temperature testing, and a sensitivity of -249 pm °C-1 was found.

RTM Production Monitoring of the A380 Hinge Arm Droop Nose Mechanism: A Multi-Sensor Approach

This research presents a case study of production monitoring on an aerospace composite component: the hinge arm of the droop nose mechanism on the Airbus A380 wing leading edge. A sensor network composed of Fibre Bragg Gratings, capacitive sensors for cure monitoring and thermocouples was embedded in its fibre reinforced lay-up and measurements were acquired throughout its Resin Transfer Moulding production process. Two main challenges had to be overcome: first, the integration of the sensor lines in the existing Resin Transfer Moulding mould without modifying it; second, the demoulding of the component without damaging the sensor lines. The proposed embedding solution has proved successful. The wavelength shifts of the Fibre Bragg Gratings were observed from the initial production stages, over the resin injection, the complete curing of the resin and the cooling-down prior to demoulding. The sensors proved to be sensitive to detecting the resin flow front, vacuum and pressure increase into the mould and the temperature increase caused by the resin curing. Measurements were also acquired during the post-curing cycle. Residual strains during all steps of the process were derived from the sensors’ wavelength shift, showing values up to 0.2% in compression. Moreover, the capacitive sensors were able to follow-up the curing degree during the production process. The sensors proved able to detect the resin flow front, whereas thermocouples could not measure an appreciable increase of temperature due to the fact that the resin had the same temperature as the mould.

A micro-computed tomography technique to study the quality of fibre optics embedded in composite materials.

Quality of embedment of optical fibre sensors in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers plays an important role in the resultant properties of the composite, as well as for the correct monitoring of the structure. Therefore, availability of a tool able to check the optical fibre sensor-composite interaction becomes essential. High-resolution 3D X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography, or Micro-CT, is a relatively new non-destructive inspection technique which enables investigations of the internal structure of a sample without actually compromising its integrity. In this work the feasibility of inspecting the position, the orientation and, more generally, the quality of the embedment of an optical fibre sensor in a carbon fibre reinforced laminate at unit cell level have been proven.

Design and Integration of Flexible Sensor Matrix for In Situ Monitoring of Polymer Composites

Sensory polymer composites are highly desirable for applications such as in situ and real-time production processes and structural health monitoring, and for technologies that include human-machine interfaces for the next generation of Internet of Things. However, the development of these materials is still in its infancy: these materials have been reported, but the large-scale fabrication of polymer composites with versatile and customizable sensing capabilities has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we report on a scalable fabrication strategy that enables such materials by designing and integrating PCB technology-inspired large-area flexible sensor matrices into polymer composites. The integrated sensor matrices successfully monitored in situ the production processes and structural health of an industrial polymer composite: from the application of vacuum, resin flow and polymerization, production defects, and temperature distribution. Our results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is a simple and effective solution as a distributed monitoring platform for polymer composites and shows the potential toward next generation of sensory polymer composites.

Dynamic 3D strain measurements with embedded micro-structured optical fiber Bragg grating sensors during impact on a CFRP coupon

Composite materials are increasingly used in aerospace applications, owing to their high strength-to-mass ratio. Such materials are nevertheless vulnerable to impact damage. It is therefore important to investigate the effects of impacts on composites. Here we embed specialty microstructured optical fiber Bragg grating based sensors inside a carbon fiber reinforced polymer, providing access to the 3D strain evolution within the composite during impact. We measured a maximum strain of −655 με along the direction of impact, and substantially lower values in the two in-plane directions. Such in-situ characterization can trigger insight in the development of impact damage in composites.

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.

Planar waveguide Bragg grating sensors for composite monitoring

Composite materials are extensively used in a wide array of application markets by virtue of their strength, stiffness and lightness. Many composite structures are replaced today not only after failure but also before, for precautionary reasons. Adding optical sensing intelligence to these structures not only prolongs their lifetime but also significantly reduces the use of raw materials and energy. The use of optical based sensors offer numerous advantages i.e. integrability, high sensitivity, compactness and electromagnetic immunity. Most sensors integrated in composites are based on silica fibers with Bragg gratings. However, polymers are an interesting alternative because they present several advantages. They have high values in the opticalconstants involved in sensing, are cost-effective and allow larger elongations than silica. Moreover, planar optical waveguides represent an interesting approach to be further integrated e.g. in circuits. We present a comparison between Ormocer®-based and epoxy-based polymer waveguide Bragg grating sensors. Both polymers were screened for their compatibility with composite production processes and for their sensitivity to measure temperature and stress. Ormocer®-based sensors were found to exhibit a very high sensitivity (-250 pm/°C) for temperature sensing, while the epoxy-based sensors, although less sensitive (-90 pm/°C) were more compatible with the epoxy-based composite production process. In terms of sensitivity to measure stress, both materials were found to be analogous with measured values of (2.98 pm/μepsilon) for the epoxy-based and (3.00 pm/μepsilon) for Ormocer®-based sensors.

FE Tool for Drape Modelling and Resin Pocket Prediction of Fully Embedded Optical Fiber Sensor system

This work highlights some of the achievements obtained within the EU FP7 SmartFiber project, aiming to develop a fully embeddable optical fiber sensor system including the interrogator chip. The focus is on resolving issues holding back the industrial uptake of optical sensing technology. In a first section, the development of a placement head for automated lay-down of an optical sensor line (including the SmartFiber interrogator system) during composite manufacturing is discussed. In a second section, the attention is shifted to the occurrence of resin pockets surrounding inclusions such as the SmartFiber interrogator. A computationally efficient F.E. approach is presented capable of accurately predicting resin pocket geometries. Both small (i.e. optical fiber sensors) and large (i.e. the SmartFiber interrogator) inclusions are considered, and the F.E. predictions are validated with experimental observations.