Abstract
This study investigates the thermo-mechanical behaviour of additively manufactured Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) with embedded Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors with respect to their feasibility for utilising them under thermal loading. This was conducted through the Finite Element Method (FEM) inside an ABAQUS environment. Numerical simulation was complemented by several experimental investigations in order to verify the computational results achieved for the specimens exposed to thermal loading. FBG sensors, incorporated into the material by embedding technique, were employed to measure the strains of the samples subjected to elevated temperatures. It was shown that the strains given by numerical simulation were in good agreement with the experimental investigation except for a few errors due to the defects created within the layers during Additive Manufacturing (AM) process. It was concluded that the embedding FBG sensors were capable of identifying thermo-mechanical strain accurately for 3D-printed composite structures. Therefore, the findings of this article could be further developed for other types of material and loading conditions.
Highlights
Additive Manufacturing (AM), so-called 3D printing, is a layer by-layer fabrication process in which successive layers of the material are deposited above each other taking advantage of a computer aided design to form the final product [1]
The simulation results were validated using experimental work performed at an environmental chamber using Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors embedded into the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) material structure
The chosen AM method for CFRP material was a modified Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) method developed by project partner (Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania), who designed their own solution of the printing head [41]
Summary
Additive Manufacturing (AM), so-called 3D printing, is a layer by-layer fabrication process in which successive layers of the material are deposited above each other taking advantage of a computer aided design to form the final product [1]. The deficiency of trusted reliable in-situ monitoring for purposes of controlling the building process and final product quality has prevented AM technology from developing [13], thereby embedding FBG sensors within composite structures is necessary for real-time monitoring of temperature alterations and measurements of induced residual strains. It is a highly innovative and promising technique in order to identify significant process defects while manufacturing samples [14]. The thermal strain of the FDM-fabricated composite sample due to its exposition on elevated temperature was studied employing FBG sensors. The resulted simulation was validated using experimental work performed at an environmental chamber using FBG sensors embedded into the CFRP material structure
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