Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT), Department of Applied Physics and Photonics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Nikos Korakas
Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Heraklion, 70013 Crete, Greece
Nikos Tiriakidis
BT Composites S. A., 53100 Florina, Greece
Thomai Tiriakidi
BT Composites S. A., 53100 Florina, Greece
Kosmas Tiriakidis
BT Composites S. A., 53100 Florina, Greece
Hugo Thienpont
Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT), Department of Applied Physics and Photonics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Francis Berghmans
Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT), Department of Applied Physics and Photonics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
In this study, silica glass, optical fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are used for torque-induced strain monitoring in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) hollow shafts toward the development of a methodology for structural load monitoring. Optical fibers with gratings are embedded during shaft manufacturing, by an industrial filament winding process, along different orientations with respect to its central axis and surface mounted after production. Experimental results are supported by numerical modeling of the shaft with appropriate boundary conditions and homogenized material properties. For an applied torque up to 800 Nm, the strain sensitivity of an embedded grating positioned along the reinforcing fibers’ direction winded under 55° is in the order of 3.6 pm/Nm, while this value is more than 4× times higher than the other examined orientations. The study also shows that surface-mounted optical fiber Bragg gratings along the reinforcing carbon fibers’ direction perform equally well in monitoring strains in composite shafts under torque.
