Embedded Electronics and Their effect on Wet Layup Substrates

Abstract

In this paper, Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are embedded into Kevlar fiber reinforced epoxy (KFRP). The purpose was to determine if the RFID tags would survive the manufacturing process for the KFRP and to determine the mechanical impact of the RFID tag on the KFRP’s structure. All materials were manufactured using a hand layup method and tested for electronic read distance and mechanical integrity. Subsets of the material were tested using compression testing to determine if the inclusion of the RFID tag caused a defect in the KFRP while other sets of the material were tested using a three point shear test to see how the inclusion of the RFID tag affected the interlaminar shear strength of the KFRP. The concluded results showed that the read distances were negatively affected by the Kevlar and that the compression and shear strengths of the material were also affected by the RFID tags.