In this paper application of integrated Optical Fiber Sensors for strain state monitoring of composite high pressure vessels is presented. The composite tanks find broad application in areas such as: automotive industry, aeronautics, rescue services, etc. In automotive application they are mainly used for gaseous fuels storage (like CNG or compressed Hydrogen). In comparison with standard steel vessels, composite ones have many advantages (i.e. high mechanical strength, significant weight reduction, etc). In the present work a novel technique of vessel manufacturing, according to this construction, was applied. It is called braiding technique, and can be used as an alternative to the winding method. During braiding process, between GFRC layers, two types of optical fiber sensors were installed: point sensors in the form of FBGs as well as interferometric sensors with long measuring arms (SOFO®). Integrated optical fiber sensors create the nervous system of the pressure vessel and are used for its structural health monitoring. OFS register deformation areas and detect construction damages in their early stage (ensure a high safety level for users). Applied sensor system also ensured a possibility of strain state monitoring even during the vessel manufacturing process. However the main application of OFS based monitoring system is to detect defects in the composite structure. An idea of such a SMART vessel with integrated sensor system as well as an algorithm of defect detection was presented.

Date Published: 31 March 2010
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7647, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2010, 764712 (31 March 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.847251

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7647:
Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2010
Masayoshi Tomizuka, Editor(s)