Smart sensing polymeric foil with integrated optic fiber sensors: fabrication and characterization of a polymeric foil sensitive to strain

Abstract

A structural integrity monitoring system based on optic fiber sensors is an important development at the smart structures level. However, direct sensors incorporation, without a substrate structure, creates few difficulties in eventual sensor maintenance or replacement. This paper presents an approach to overcome this issue. The fabrication, using industrial fabrication processes, and characterization of a polymeric foil able to sense and gather sensitive information, and send it for remote analysis is explored. The described example uses Fiber Bragg Grating sensors embedded in laminated polymeric sheets commonly used in different industries, as automotive, aeronautic, civil, among others. The fabricated foil is capable of transferring the full deformation to the optical sensor. Tests indicate that the polymeric foil influence on the sensor performance may exist. However, the presented optical sensor incorporated in the polymeric foil is fully functional with high sensitivity, 0,6 picometer by microstrain, measuring deformation, up to 1,2 millimeter