A Study on the Measurement Technique of Resin Flow and Cure during the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding Process using the Long Period Fibre Bragg Grating Sensor

Abstract

Long Period Gratings (LPGs) are currently being used in various fibre-optic sensor implementations. In this study, Long Period Fibre Bragg Grating was applied to monitor the resin flow and the curing process in the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM) process. The principle of measurement is explained. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, gratings are inserted into the glass mat to monitor the resin flow during VARTM process. Signal from the sensor is processed by an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA). The curing reaction is also monitored using the same method. From the results, it is shown that the proposed LPGs sensor is effective in monitoring the resin flow as well as the curing reaction during VARTM process.