Electro-mechanical behavior of self-sensing textile-reinforced composites for in situ structural health monitoring

Abstract

Advanced engineering materials like glass fabric-reinforced composites (GFRC) are frequently utilized in automotive components, civil structures, aviation sectors, etc. Contrary to metals, the anisotropic nature of composites makes it difficult to forecast damage and failure under real-time loads. GFRC is employed in this work to demonstrate structural health monitoring (SHM) using a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) coated glass fabric piezo-resistive sensor. The sensor was embedded in the GFRC composite to detect changes in the fractional electrical resistance under flexural strain. The developed composite specimens were subjected to three-point bending to examine the piezo-resistive performance. Throughout testing, the effect of sensor width and relative positions in the thickness direction within the composite specimen on strain and damage detection was assessed. The results of the tests revealed that these parameters were responsively associated with the piezo-resistance of the developed sensor. This study concluded that the developed piezo-resistive sensor has the potential to be used as a strain and damage detection mechanism for glass fabric-reinforced composite structures for disparate applications.