Structural monitoring and impact damage detection in continuous fiber-reinforced components
The project demonstrated the feasibility of structural monitoring in continuous fiber-reinforced components under static and cyclic loading, as well as the detection of impact damage.
For the storage of gaseous hydrogen at high pressures of up to 700 bar, type-IV pressure vessels with thermoplastic liners are wrapped in carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The use of CFRP enables a high storable mass of hydrogen with a low tank weight for mobile applications. As damage to the fibre reinforcement is difficult to detect over the service life, IKV has developed and tested the use of high-precision fibre-optic sensors for structural monitoring as part of the “HyInnoTank” project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Fibre optic sensors are based on optical fibre technology and enable a quasi-continuous, high-precision evaluation of the local strain of the sensor over the entire sensor length and thus form a digital fingerprint of the component to be tested. As part of the project, fibre optic sensors were integrated into the wet winding process established at IKV and embedded in the laminate of type-IV pressure vessels. These tanks were then subjected to hydraulic burst tests with simultaneous condition monitoring at NPROXX GmbH in Alsdorf. As part of the overall project, the possibility of structural monitoring in continuous fibre-reinforced components under static and cyclic load as well as the detection of impact damage was also demonstrated, which opens up possibilities for adapting the technology in other fields of application.
Project Data and Funding
We would like to thank the BMBF for funding the project (funding code 03ZU1115DB) and the project partnersfor their cooperation.
Project duration: 01.10.2021 – 30.09.2024
Project Partners
