This paper discusses the development of a novel composite system where some of the reinforcing fibers act as the light guide. High purity silica reinforcing fibers with a diameter of 9 micrometer were used along with an appropriate cladding material to produce a light guide, which was termed a 'self-sensing' fiber. Self-sensing fibers were embedded within a 16-ply carbon fiber reinforced composite and the resultant panels were impact tested to examine the possibility of using the self-sensing fibers as an impact damage sensor (crack detector). Similarly, three types of conventional optical fibers, with outer diameters of 30 micrometer, 50 micrometer, and 125 micrometer were also embedded within composite panels. These were also impact tested to ascertain their effectiveness as crack detectors. Results indicate that the self-sensing fibers are capable of detecting impact damage as low as 2 J and proved to be more sensitive to impact damage than the other types of fiber investigated in this study.
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