Abstract
Online monitoring of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) ropes requires non-destructive testing (NDT) methods capable of detecting multiple damage types at high inspection speeds. Three NDT methods are evaluated on artificial and realistic imperfections in order to assess their suitability for online monitoring of CFRP ropes. To support testing, the microstructure and electrical conductivity of a carbon fiber rope is characterized. The compared methods are thermography via thermoelastic stress analysis, ultrasonic testing with commercial phased array transducers, and eddy current testing, supported by tailor-made probes. While thermoelastic stress analysis and ultrasonics proved to be accurate methods for detecting damage size and the shape of defects, they were found to be unsuitable for high-speed inspection of a CFRP rope. Instead, contactless inspection using eddy currents is a promising solution for real-time online monitoring of CFRP ropes at high inspection speeds.
Highlights
The use of synthetic fiber ropes has significant potential to replace steel wire ropes in civil engineering and hoisting applications
The purpose of this study is to find an online monitoring method that would allow condition-based maintenance, remote assessment of data and full utilization of the life of carbon fiber ropes
The carbon fiber rope is a structural system consisting of four pultruded unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) elements protected by a polyurethane coating with a thickness of about 1 mm (Fig. 1)
Summary
The use of synthetic fiber ropes has significant potential to replace steel wire ropes in civil engineering and hoisting applications. Several methods for inspection of fiber ropes have been suggested, such as methods based on the electrical resistivity of the fibres [4, 5] and optical methods monitoring modal parameters [6]. Electrical resistivity works well for small samples [8], but it does not provide information on the location of damage. The relative increase in resistance caused by a small fraction of broken fibres is low compared to the total resistance of a long rope. It is possible to detect local changes by using embedded optical fibres [9], they provide only strain values, which are an indirect indication of damage. Matrix and interface damage, such as microcracking, delamination, environmental aging and debonding, does not cause an increase in strain it can reduce
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