Global-local Assessment of Low-velocity Impact Damage in Woven Composites

Abstract

Global measurements from low-velocity impact experiments and local strain measurements from embedded and surface mounted optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were used to obtain failure maps for two- and three dimensional woven composites. These maps delineated five distinct regimes spanning behavior from initial impact to complete penetration. Sensor and host damage were separated by signal intensity and the evolution of Bragg peaks due to repeated impact loads. The results indicate that a local-global framework can be used to monitor damage progression in different host materials, and hence it can be potentially used to mitigate damage.