In-situ structural health self-monitoring and diagnosing of glass fiber reinforced plastics with embedded nickel coated carbon fiber

Abstract

In this study, a nickel coated carbon fiber (Ni-CF) tow is used to enable glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRPs) to exhibit multi-functional properties with self-diagnosing function. The experimental results indicate that the Ni-CF exhibits desirable interfacial compatibility with the matrix resin and has no negative effect on the performance of GFRPs, thereby the loading conditions can be effectively monitored without deterioration. The electro-mechanical response suggests that the changes in resistance can be further divided into two stages corresponding to the two different safety states based on the strain under uniaxial tensile loading. At the same time, the composites were examined under cyclic loading conditions to confirm the stability and robustness of the Ni-CF as a sensing element. Moreover, the safety factor and reliability of composites were calculated based on the stress corresponding to the transition point of the safety states and the ultimate stress of the composites. Consequently, the results show that the reliability is close to 100% when the maximum safety factor of Ni-CF/GFRP is 1.5. In addition, we also suggest two different solutions for manufacturing self-diagnosing composites which can be individually applied in the development of the structures with low failure risk or with high safety requirements.