Cognizant Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Incorporating Seamlessly Integrated Sensing and Computing Circuitry

Cognizant Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Incorporating Seamlessly Integrated Sensing and Computing Circuitry

Structural fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced with layers of high-strength fibers are used in numerous applications, including but not limited to spacecraft, vehicles, buildings, and bridges. Researchers in the past few decades have suggested...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymers Vol. 15; no. 22; p. 4401
Main Authors: Jaradat, Mohammed, Duran, Jorge Loredo, Murcia, Daniel Heras, Buechley, Leah, Shen, Yu-Lin, Christodoulou, Christos, Taha, Mahmoud Reda
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-11-2023
Subjects:
Actuation
Adsorption
Algorithms
Carbon
Circuits
Composite materials
Computation
Embedded microcontrollers
Equipment and supplies
Ferric chloride
Fiber optics
Fiber reinforced plastics
Fiber reinforced polymers
Fiberglass
Light-emitting diodes
Maintenance costs
Mechanical properties
Medical equipment
Microcontrollers
Polyesters
Polymer industry
Polymer matrix composites
Polymeric composites
Polymerization
Polymers
Polypyrroles
Protonation
Research methodology
Sensors
Strain
United States > US
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Summary:Structural fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced with layers of high-strength fibers are used in numerous applications, including but not limited to spacecraft, vehicles, buildings, and bridges. Researchers in the past few decades have suggested the necessary integration of sensors (e.g., fiber optic sensors) in polymer composites to enable health monitoring of composites’ performance over their service lives. This work introduces an innovative cognizant composite that can self-sense, compute, and implement decisions based on sensed values. It is a critical step towards smart, resilient infrastructure. We describe a method to fabricate textile sensors with flexible circuitry and a microcontroller within the polymer composite, enabling computational operations to take place in the composite without impacting its integrity. A microstructural investigation of the sensors showed that the amount of oxidative agent and soaking time of the fabric play a major role in the adsorption of polypyrrole (PPy) on fiberglass (FG). XPS results showed that the 10 g ferric chloride solution with 6 h of soaking time had the highest degree of protonation (28%) and, therefore, higher adsorption of PPy on FG. A strain range of 30% was achieved by examining different circuitry and sensor designs for their resistance and strain resolution under mechanical loading. A microcontroller was added to the circuit and then embedded within a composite material. This composite system was tested under flexural loading to demonstrate its self-sensing, computing, and actuation capabilities. The resulting cognizant composite demonstrated the ability to read resistance values and measure strain using the embedded microcontroller and autonomously actuate an LED light when the strain exceeds a predefined limit of 2000 µε. The application of the proposed FRP system would provide in situ monitoring of structural composite components with autonomous response capabilities, as well as reduce manufacturing, production, and maintenance costs.
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ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym15224401