Nanocomposite Based Structural Health Monitoring Approaches for Fibre Reinforced Polymers - On Doorstep to Industrial Relevance after Two Decades of Intense Research?

Abstract : Reliability and availability thus minimized cost-intensive downtime are mandatory for successful application of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) structures in many industrial branches. Different approaches for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems compete for industrial application. Nanoscale carbon particle filled polymer matrices exhibit good performance regarding structural integrity as well as spatial resolution to create functionally enhanced composites. Changes of electrical signal due to deformation of the modified polymer are used as corresponding piezoresistive signal (ÒSensingî). Major drawbacks like incompatibility of implementation strategies into existing manufacturing processes or insufficient sensor properties anticipate propagating implementation of nanocomposite SHM approaches especially in large structures. Therefore fundamental materialÕs knowledge for property tailoring combined with well-thought-out implementation strategies are necessary. The present contribution offers an overview over todayÕs research on nanocomposite based SHM trials from nanoscale material level to promising implementation strategies.