Detecting delamination in a composite structure using an embedded FBG-AE hybrid system

Distorted spectra of Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBG) sensors have been using in most of research on identifying delaminations in composites which is the most common cause of failures of laminated composite structures. However, it has been shown that there are multiple causes which can produce a similar response spectrum of an FBG sensor. As a consequence an integrated additional monitoring system would enhance the prediction power of FBG based monitoring system. In this research paper we introduce a 'FBG-AE hybrid system' concept for the detection of delaminations in composite structures which uses same FBG sensor network for monitor damage using two independent responses from the sensors. The proposed system use spectral responses from FBG sensors and extract strain and acoustic emission data for monitoring purpose. The proposed concept has experimentally investigated with convincing results.