Simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain in glass fiber/epoxy composites by embedded fiber optic sensors: II. Post-cure testing

In this paper the use of fiber optic sensors embedded into GFRP laminates for structural health monitoring of thermo-mechanical loads is presented. The proposed sensing system, consisting of two coupled fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, allows the simultaneous measurement of both temperature and strain by decoupling the change in reflected wavelength induced by temperature variations from that induced by either mechanical or apparent strain, with significant advantages either for monitoring the composite cure kinetics, as described in the accompanying paper (Part I), or for assessing the structural response to thermo-mechanical loads. Both thermal ramp and mechanical static/dynamic bending…