Study on Thermal Behavior of Unidirectional Composite Materials using Embedded Optical Fiber Sensors

삽입되어진 광섬유 센서를 이용한 일방향 적층 복합재료의 열적 거동 연구

Smart structure that contains sensors, which are either embedded in a composite material or attached to a structure, is currently receiving considerable attention. Fiber Bragg grating sensor, one of the optical fiber sensors, has been widely used to sense strain and temperature for smart structures since both parameters change the resonant frequency of the grating. In this paper, according to the various heating and cooling conditions the thermal behavior of unidirectional composite material was monitored by embedding the fiber Bragg grating sensors in the longitudinal and transverse directions of unidirectional composites. The thermal behavior of unidirectional composite material was monitored for various heating and cooling rates and applied pressure. It was found that the thermal behavior was unaffected by pressure variations and heating and cooling rates applied to the composites. The thermal strains were measured by considering the shift in Bragg wavelength that was generated by the thermal expansion of composite specimen. The longitudinal and transverse C.T.E.'s were also obtained from the corresponding temperature-thermal strain curves.