Integration of Active Fiber Composite (AFC) Sensors/Actuators into Glass/Epoxy Laminates

摘要

In the current study Active Fiber Composites (AFC) utilizing Lead-Zirconate-Titanate (PZT) fibers with Kapton screen printed interdigitated electrodes (IDE) were integrated into orthotropic glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) laminates to investigate integration issues associated with smart structures and host laminate integrity. To aid in this goal surrogate or "Dummy" AFC (DAFC) were designed using a GFRP core and Kapton outer layers to match the longitudinal mechanical and interface properties of the AFC. These DAFC were used in place of real AFC to expedite test specimen manufacture and evaluation. This allowed efficient investigation of the impact of an integrated AFC-like inclusion on laminate mechanical integrity. Two integration techniques, cutout and simple insertion were investigated using DAFC, with little difference seen between the integrity of laminates prepared using these two methods. Using this testing scheme the influence of device placement in relation to position extending away from the laminate symmetric axis was found to have an effect on laminate integrity in tensile loading. As the DAFC were placed far from the laminate symmetry axis, the ultimate tensile strength and strain of the laminates decreased in a linear manner while the Young's modulus of the laminates remained constant. Similar trends were observed with integrated AFC specimens. The performance of integrated AFC was characterized using monotonic cyclic tensile loading with increasing strain levels. A transition region was observed between strains of 0.05%-0.50%, with a dramatic decrease in AFC sensitivity from a maximum to minimum value.