An investigation into self-sensing property of hat-shaped 3D orthogonal woven composite under bending test

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of damage and deformation on the electrical property of carbon fibers in the hat-shaped 3D orthogonal woven fabric-reinforced composite structure is studied. A method of producing parallel sensor arrays was proposed, in which the warp yarns made of carbon fibers were separated by isolated Kevlar fibers as weft yarns and Z-yarns. The sensor array unitized the self-sensing property of carbon fiber and could detect the damage and deformation distribution along the transverse direction of the composite under bending tests. Both the experiments and simulations had been conducted to analyze the mechanical and electrical responses of the carbon fiber array. By comparing the experimental results and simulation data, the method was validated and the influences of damage and deformation distribution on the resistance variation of carbon fibers were revealed.