Abstract
Over the past few decades, there has been a considerable interest in the use of distributed optical fibre sensors (DOFS) for structural health monitoring of composite structures. In aerospace-related work, health monitoring of the adhesive joints of composites has become more significant, as they can suffer from cracking and delamination, which can have a significant impact on the integrity of the joint. In this paper, a swept-wavelength interferometry (SWI) based DOFS technique is used to monitor the fatigue in a flush step lap joint composite structure. The presented results will show the potential application of distributed optical fibre sensor for damage detection, as well as monitoring the fatigue crack growth along the bondline of a step lap joint composite structure. The results confirmed that a distributed optical fibre sensor is able to enhance the detection of localised damage in a structure.
Highlights
Due to the requirement of high specific stiffness, strength, durability and corrosion resistance, composite materials have seen increasing use in the engineering industry, and, in particular, the aerospace sector
Results and Discussion results gathered clearly show that the strain measured by distributed optical fibre sensor corresponded to the fatigue loading profile whilst providing real-time structural health
It is important to note that the distributed optical fibre sensors was able to record the change in strain measured before failure occurs. These features can be used as an indication of damage or crack growth. These results demonstrate the ability of distributed strain measurement technique for the in-situ monitoring of damage along the bonded step lap joints
Summary
Due to the requirement of high specific stiffness, strength, durability and corrosion resistance, composite materials have seen increasing use in the engineering industry, and, in particular, the aerospace sector. Adhesive bonding is one of the most efficient methods of joining lightweight composite structures. Results gathered by several researchers have demonstrated that step lap joints can be an effective and efficient joint repair method to restore a structure’s strength and stiffness [1,2]. Health monitoring of the joints is becoming more significant as they often suffer from cracking and slippage, which renders them out of service prematurely. The development of proper non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques and strategies have become more crucial for damage interrogation and the continuous monitoring of structural integrity to assess the state of joints
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