Abstract:
Increasing demand for monitoring of in-service structures is driving technology in new directions. Advances in many related technologies, including novel sensor design and implementation, have created new opportunities in structural health monitoring. We present efforts to develop structural composite materials that employ networks of embedded transducers to extend the functionality of the composite beyond that of load bearing. The capability to acquire, process, and if necessary respond to structural or other types of information represents the next generation of structural systems. Sensorized composite materials bring together many disparate yet fundamentally important developments that have occurred over the last few years in several areas: developments in composites and the emergence of multifunctional composites, the emergence of a broad range of new sensors, smaller and lower power microelectronics with increased and multiple integrated functionality, and the emergence of device level single-wire long haul communications protocols. Information-aware composite structures are now feasible due to the recent advances in these fields, although the integration of these technologies remains a challenge. In this work, we summarize our efforts to integrate and embed connectorized microelectronic components within fiber/conductor braided bundles to minimize their impact as composite crack initiation centers. The resulting bundles have mm size diameters, and are suitable for inclusion in woven composite fabrics or directly in the composite lay-up. The low-power electronic devices operate on a multi-drop network with a single wire providing power and communications. A computer-network interface is provided by multiple channel external electronic driver circuitries. Future directions include implementing in-network local processing, a greater range of sensors, adding in-situ power generation, and optimizing the composite processing techniques.
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