Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Three-Dimensional Braided Composite Material using Carbon Nanotube Thread Sensors

Abstract

ABSTRACT Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) takes advantage of the recent advances in nanotechnology and sensing in order to monitor the behavior of a structure, assess its performance and identify damage at an early stage. Monitoring the state of strain throughout an entire structure is essential to determine its state of stress, detect potential residual stresses after fabrication, and also to help to establish its integrity. The Carbon nanotube thread was integrated into three-dimensional braiding materials and used for the first time as a sensor to monitor strain and also to detect damage in the three-dimensional braided composite material. In this paper a literature review about the application of carbon nanotubes thread for sensors and smart materials used for SHM of braiding structures is presented. The test data show the braided angle is important parameter for structural health monitoring of three-dimensional. The research will provide a new integrated and distributed technologies for the built-in carbon nanotube sensor to detect the health of composite. The subject will provide the new idea and method for the development of smart composite materials research and application.